Esteban Parra

The News Journal

Dozens of people in the Newark area spent most of Thursday afternoon walking, driving, hiking and scouring the area on the trail of a black bear, even though they were warned not to.

Police and University of Delaware officials issued a warning to stay away from the bear, but many were wandering the streets, pathways and wooded areas near the campus in search of the animal. Most just wanted to get a look at an animal not seen in Delaware for a couple hundred years.

Sydney Slatko was driving her Mini Cooper convertible in the hope of seeing the animal, basically because she said she didn't have much else to do.

"It's exciting and they told us not to," Slatko said, explaining why she was defying the officials. She added that she wasn't sure what she would do if she saw it.

There were two other young women in the car with her, all of whom were eager to get searching.

Officials believe it is the same animal that rummaged through trash cans, trampled through gardens and knocked over a homeowner's beehive Wednesday in Hockessin and Pike Creek.

A man who would identify himself only as Wolf was carrying a small camera, searching for the beast off Cleveland Avenue near wooded trails. He was not hopeful he would get a glimpse. "There are too many two-legged animals that have scared it away," he said.

A group of young men stood on the porch of a house on White Clay Road watching the small, scattered crowd search for the animal. The group, some of whom held BB guns and a bow, taunted the searchers. "There's a bear over here. I see the bear."

STORY: Delaware bear sightings spark alarm

STORY: Bear? Where? More often in New Jersey, expert says

STORY: To feed wildlife, native plants are garden’s best bet

STORY: Eastern cougars likely extinct, not endangered

Maggie Dolan said she was in her second-floor bedroom Thursday when she looked out the window and saw the bear in her neighbor's yard, rooting through trash. After the 21-year-old UD student called 911 and police arrived, Dolan and a friend walked onto her home's front steps and watched the bear cross the unit block of White Clay Drive and into Orville A. Clark Park.

"He went down and just kind of hung out by the creek and then he kind of went out of sight," Dolan said, but not before she took a photo that she posted on Snapchat.

Her neighbor, Diane Bryant, was coming out of her house when she saw the bear wander into the park about 1 p.m.

"It looked like an awful big sheepdog, " she said. "And then I ran back in."

Both women said they saw officers with rifles following the bear. Sgt. John McDerby of the Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, said officers are carrying the weapons as a precautionary measure because the bear was spotted in an area with a lot of people.

"Our goal is not to shoot or have to kill the animal," McDerby said, stressing that officers were not there to harm it. "That was only for public safety – just because it was getting into an area that was so populated with people."

The bear was seen in the vicinity of the Pomeroy Trail between Paper Mill Road, Cleveland Avenue and North College Avenue. At one point the bear was spotted near Timothy's of Newark restaurant, but Newark officers managed to frighten the animal, causing it to head upstream toward White Clay Creek State Park along the creek bed.

Newark's Public Works Crew captured both a picture and video of the bear.

Earlier, UD officials issued an alert urging residents to keep on the lookout for the furry, black animal:

"The City of Newark Police Department is currently tracking a black bear in the vicinity of the Pomeroy Trail between Paper Mill Road, Cleveland Avenue and North College Avenue. Officials from DNREC are currently on scene and evaluating the situation. Pedestrians are advised not to approach the bear and use caution in this area."

Some followed the advice, not wanting to get too close to the large animal, which is reported to weigh close to 200 pounds.

While little is known about the specific bear in Delaware, it is most certainly an American black bear.

The name can be deceiving as the bear's color varies from black to cinnamon or yellow-brown and can have a small patch of white on its breast.

This type of bear can stand 5 to 6 feet tall. Males weigh between 130 and 350 pounds but can be as large as 600 pounds in some instances, according to the Chesapeake Bay program. Females are typically 90 to 175 pounds.

They are mostly found in rural areas in the eastern portion of North America, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Their mating season peaks from June to mid-July, and adult females will often establish their territories during the summer, the Chesapeake Bay program said.

They have been known to travel far and wide to find a mate.

The state plans to borrow a bear trap from Maryland, it said Wednesday, but it is unclear if or where the trap will be set because the animal appears to be moving steadily. This can make it difficult to determine the bear's exact location and direction unless additional sightings are called into the Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police.

“This time of year, male bears are known to roam widely, but if given the opportunity, we will attempt to live-capture the bear and transport it to more suitable habitat out of state within the bear’s normal range,” said Wildlife Administrator Rob Hossler. “Sightings from the general public will help us track its movements and enable us to respond accordingly. We ask anyone who sees the bear to report the encounter, including the specific location, by calling (800) 523-3336.”

The bear could be relocated to western Maryland.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.

BEAR PRECAUTIONS

The Division of Fish & Wildlife offered these precautions for residents in the area: