Another bear sighting reported in northern Perimeter area
For the third time this week, a bear has been spotted in the Perimeter area of north Fulton and DeKalb counties.
A police officer spotted a bear crossing Ashford Dunwoody Road at Meadow Lane on Thursday night, according to Officer Kelly Boyer of the Dunwoody Police Department.
The area is next to the Perimeter Village shopping center and a short distance north of Perimeter Mall.
There were no reports of damage from the animal, and police could not say if it was the same bear spotted twice Wednesday in the Spalding Drive and Hunters Branch Road areas near Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs. Anyone who sees the bear is asked to call 911.
The sightings were only the latest in the metro Atlanta area this year.
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.
No conflicts with humans have been reported thus far, but police have advised residents to keep pets leashed, temporarily take down bird feeders, take in food and store garbage in an inaccessible area. Bears will normally move on to other feeding areas if left alone, police said.
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.
-- Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
