There have been bear sightings in recent days in the Rochester area, and an expert with the state department of environmental conservation says that's not unusual.
One of the sightings happened Monday night after Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputies got a 911 call about a black bear on the grounds of the Wheatland-Chili High School, reportedly pressing itself up against a window of the building.
DEC Senior Wildlife Biologist Art Kirsch says the bear also crossed the river and was seen in the Riverton housing development in Henrietta.
“Likely it is a young male, this is the time of year when the mothers kind of kick their one year old offspring out of the nest, when she herself goes into heat and thinks about mating, so the young ones are often in search of new territories.”
Kirsch says the fact that the weather has been dry may also cause bears to roam farther as they look for food sources.
Kirsch says black bears are generally docile, and he says the DEC doesn't track them unless they start to cause problems. If you find yourself being close to one, Kirsch says making noise and making yourself look bigger than you really are, doing things like waving your arms will usually get the bear to run away
