A bear was spotted in Davidson County. Experts say they may be moving closer to Middle Tennessee.

Natalie Allison | The Tennessean

A bear has been spotted at least twice in Middle Tennessee this month, one of those times in Davidson County.

According to wildlife experts, the black bear sighting in Joelton is the only one recorded in Davidson County in modern history — at least since the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was founded in the mid-1970s.

Black bear sighting near Nashville is the only one recorded in Davidson County in modern history A bear has been spotted at least twice in Middle Tennessee this month, one of those times in Davidson County.

Barry Cross, a TWRA wildlife information specialist for the Middle Tennessee region, said he estimates there hasn't been a population of black bears in the county since sometime in the late 1800s, when they were mostly killed off in the area.

The sighting in Joelton, located in northwest Davidson County, took place Aug. 15.

A property owner spotted the black bear, which Cross suspects is around 2 years old, on a trail camera in a wooded area.

It was followed by another sighting of what TWRA believes to be the same bear on Saturday in Clarksville.

The department said based on size and appearance, it's likely a bear that had been spotted in Logan County, Kentucky, a couple of weeks ago, but it's possible there were multiple bears.

At one point, there were bears all across Tennessee, Cross said.

Settlers began hunting them for fear of their safety and that of their livestock. Now, the state's population of black bears — the only type of bear here, Cross said — is primarily in East Tennessee, though there is also a population of bears in the Cumberland Plateau region north of Crossville.

That doesn't mean isolated roaming bears don't make their way further west sometimes, Cross said. Single bears are occasionally spotted in Middle Tennessee, just not usually as far west as Davidson County.

"They're expanding their range in Tennessee," Cross said.

He said the black bear population is showing signs of spreading slightly west of the Cumberland Plateau to counties like Coffee, Cannon, Dekalb, Smith and Trousdale, but wildlife officials "don't expect them to be in Davidson County any time soon in any kind of numbers,"

What do you do if you see a bear in Tennessee?

While TWRA doesn't come out to remove bears unless one has proven to be a nuisance in a particular area, Cross said the department does want to track where the animals are making appearances in Tennessee.

"By and large they're just curious animals, although they are dangerous if they feel threatened," Cross said. "We don’t want people to approach them. We don't want people to try to go and get pictures made with them or anything."

Anyone who sees a bear in the distance should change course and travel in a different direction. If a person encounters a bear up close, he or she should slowly back away, TWRA advises.

Bears can't be hunted at any time of the year in Middle Tennessee, though bear hunting season ranges from Sept. 29 through Dec. 30 for areas to the east.

Sightings can be called in or reported on TWRA's website at https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/mammals/large/black-bears.html.

More: What do you do if you see a bear in Tennessee?

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.