Residents in one Massachusetts town are on high alert after a massive black bear was spotted roaming around on Wednesday morning.
Video shared with Boston 25 News showed the bear strolling across Pleasant Street in the Worcester County town of Paxton and into the front yard of a home in the neighborhood.
Black bears are common in western and central Massachusetts and have been expanding their range east over the years.
Black bears live and breed in Worcester County, northern Middlesex County, and west to the Berkshires, according to the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
The statewide population of bears is estimated to be over 4,500.
Officials remind Bay Staters that the removal of food sources and other attractants, like bird feeders, is key to preventing problems with bears.
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