NORTH PORT, Fla. — A home in North Port had an unusual guest come by its front door after a Florida black bear was caught on camera, approaching the doorway.
North Port Police Department shared a video on Facebook showing trail camera footage of the bear walking up the patio of a home on Tidwell Street in the area of the North Port Estates.
"Ay Boo-Boo!" the department wrote in the post.
Police say they received a call notifying them of the bear saying it was getting "real close" to the residence.
Officials advise residents in the area to secure their garbage cans and other food sources to prevent the black bear from continuing to inhabit in the neighborhood.
Police say the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was made aware of the situation.
In a statement to 10 Tampa Bay, FWC says these bear sightings are not uncommon for that part of the state and that it has "likely moved along" from the area.
The organization explains that bears are more active during spring and summer, as juvenile bears begin leaving their mothers' home and could be seen in new, unexpected areas to settle in.
"If you see a bear, give it space, don’t try to approach it and never feed it," FWC officials said in a statement. "Seeing a bear in a neighborhood is not necessarily cause for alarm. However, it is important that residents secure food attractants so that bears do not linger in the area. If a bear is not able to find food and is given space, it will move on. Feeding bears can make them lose their natural fear of people."
To know if a bear could likely be near your area, FWC has an interactive bear map that displays where they are commonly found in Florida.
If you feel threatened by a bear; find one that is sick, injured dead or orphaned; or find someone who is harming bears or intentionally feeding them, you can contact FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).