A black bear turned up in a north Mobile County neighborhood this week, and the person who ran into it was a local police chief.
Citronelle Police Chief Tyler Norris crossed paths with the bear on Thursday, according to accounts of the sighting. The animal was seen in the Elysian Fields neighborhood along Highway 45, in the stretch of road between Chunchula and Saraland.
Bears in the woods north of Mobile
The area sits in a largely wooded part of Mobile County where pine stands and undeveloped land run up against subdivisions and highway frontage, giving bears and other large animals a natural corridor to travel through without much human contact.
Wildlife officials generally advise anyone who encounters a black bear to keep a wide distance, avoid cornering or approaching the animal, never attempt to feed it, and secure trash cans, pet food and grills that can draw bears toward homes. Bears that find an easy food source in a neighborhood tend to return to it.
No injuries were reported in connection with the sighting, and there was no indication the bear caused property damage before moving on.