Dunwoody police are trying to corner possibly two black bears while awaiting the arrival of state rangers.
A resident reported a bear in her backyard, Officer Tim Fecht told The Atlanta Journal- Constitution on Thursday. A patrol officer spotted and then lost sight of the bear on Old Springhouse Lane.
A short time later, he spotted a bear that he thought was a second one based on its size, Fecht said.
Currently the bear or bears have retreated to wooded, grass area near Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Intestate 285 after officers arrived with flashing blue lights and sirens, he said.
“They got spooked,” he said. “We’re setting up a perimeter.”
The department has used social media to tell residents not to bother the bears, while asking the state Department of Transportation to monitor road cameras for any sign the beasts try to walk out on I-285, Fecht said.
The plan is to hope the bears stay put until rangers from the Department of Natural Resources arrive, presumably with a tranquilizing gun, to arrange a more peaceful transport elsewhere, Fecht said.
“We don’t want to engage with them because all we have is lethal means,” he said. “That is why we are waiting on DNR because they specialize in these matters.”
Thursday night, Fecht said DNR would monitor the situation, but no bears had been captured.
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