Wandering bear turns up on Johns Creek golf course

By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An animal believed to be the wandering bear of north Fulton and DeKalb counties has turned up in Johns Creek, roaming the golf course of a prestigious single-family home community, police said Friday.

Residents called police Thursday and Friday mornings to report a black bear in the Country Club of the South subdivision, according to Sgt. Dion Smith of Johns Creek Police Department.

The most recent sighting was about 8:30 a.m. Friday near Compton Way. The animal was heading in an easterly direction.

“Several of the residents who reside along the golf course called our communications center,” Smith said. “Judging by the size and the description that (witnesses) provided, it sounds like it’s a young male probably 2 years of age that’s just roaming around seeking new territory.”

Smith said it is probably the same bear sighted several times last week in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

“Given the location and proximity to the Chattahoochee River, I would probably say it’s the same animal making its way back north along the river bank … to the North Georgia area,” he said.

A “considerable” number of black bears live in the area north of Lake Lanier, Smith said, “and around this time, from May thru September, adult males will expand their territories looking for food or possible mates.”

The bear has not caused any trouble with humans, but people should be careful.

“We’re just encouraging residents that if they see the animal, to enjoy the sight of it but not to approach it, and take precautions to dissuade the animal from coming up to their homes,” Smith said.

Residents should not leave pet food outside and ensure their trash cans are properly stored “so the animal doesn’t develop an affinity for human food,” Smith said.

Police also went to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area on Friday, advising visitors to be watchful.

Phil Sehenuk, a park visitor, told Channel 2 Action News that he's seen black and grizzly bears in Alaska and Montana, but never in metro Atlanta.

“I think it’s cool, but people better be careful," he said.

On Aug. 18, a Dunwoody police officer spotted a bear crossing Ashford Dunwoody Road at Meadow Lane, near the Perimeter Village shopping center and a short distance north of Perimeter Mall.

The previous day, a bear was spotted twice in the Spalding Drive and Hunters Branch Road areas near Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs.

On July 21, motorists along Sugarloaf Parkway in Gwinnett County faced an unusual traffic jam when a bear was struck and killed by a vehicle. The black bear was hit before 8 a.m. near Old Peachtree Road, in front of Sugarloaf Country Club.

In June, three bears were reported struck by vehicles in a 10-day period across Georgia – in Hall, Harris and Liberty counties.

In late March, residents of west Cobb County were warned to watch out for a black bear that was seen on a trail camera eating bird feed in the backyard of house around Due West Road near the West Hampton subdivision.

More information about bears in Georgia is available on this state Department of Natural Resources website. Georgia has an estimated bear population of at least 5,100.