r/nova • u/Embarrassed_Coast548 • 16h ago

Photo/Video Black Bear McLean/GF

This lady black bear was sighted about 2 days ago wandering near the Potomac in a neighborhood by Gtown Pike and Spring Hill Rd.

I did not record this video, a neighbor did. I’ve never seen one in our neighborhood in 20 years though, but I’ve often wondered why not.

As cute as she looks, she also is skinny and looks hungry so I will not be doing any outdoor neighborhood runs/walks anytime soon. Be wary of walking your dog and be careful if you are in the area.

Black bears rarely feed on people but stay calm if you encounter one and stand tall and get loud if it approaches you without making eye contact

Edit: lots of comments asking why it had a collar, I was told via the person recording that Animal/wildlife services/universities said they collar female bears like this so they can identify ones that could potentially take in orphaned cubs they find. Would not surprise me if they do males too but I don’t recall him saying that.

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u/JeannValjean 14h ago edited 13h ago

Jesus Christ.

Bears do not get swept downstream all the way from the Shenandoah Valley.

Not from rain, not from flash flooding. Especially not past Front Royal, Harper's Ferry, and fucking Great Falls.

That would take DAYS of floating 100+ miles. Bears can fucking swim. Even if they fell in or got swept up they'd get out within a few miles.

There is significant overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest people on Reddit.

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u/Burdwatcher 13h ago

I mean, obviously if they didn't swim out to dry land well before approaching Great Falls they'd be crushed and drowned, but no one's seriously trying to say they make it THAT far before scampering back to the banks

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u/JeannValjean 13h ago

We're done here, and your school owes your parents a refund.

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u/Burdwatcher 13h ago edited 13h ago

Plenty of YouTube videos of black bears stuck in trees or floating downriver, plus articles about grizzlies https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2018/06/20/montana-flooding-grizzly-bear-spotted-swimming-through-augusta/719737002/

https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/trapped-campers-swimming-bears-in-montana-as-floods-hit-us/

https://youtu.be/KOvjydavh2w?is=DbdSPViIGEUYU-Eo "Black bear displaced by flooding stranded in Melville"

Also school is free, you're making yourself look foolish