A black bear worked up residents in several neighborhoods as it strolled through Arlington, Virginia, on Monday morning.
But on North Ottawa Street, the bear seemed unbothered as people rushed to their windows and curbs to survey the spectacle and warn their neighbors.
"I thought it was a huge dog at first when I saw it. I was like, this is crazy," Sophia Ebanks said through laughter.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington suspected the mighty mammal was a juvenile male and advised neighbors to keep their pets inside and not approach.
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If you’re scratching your head thinking: weren’t we just talking about a black bear on the loose in D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood? Yes, we were. And according to the Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, based on that animal’s direction of travel, they have every reason to believe it could be the same bear.
Neighbor Marianne Gick said her sister chased the animal out of her yard.
“That is not a big dog. That is a bear!" she said. “My sister chased him out of our yard and then he started walking across the street.”
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Neighbors in north Arlington said they saw him climbing fences, pawing around through their yards and walking down the street. They alerted each other to keep their pets inside and keep the kids away from the school bus stop, but the animal seemed fairly relaxed.
“He was really calm. We knew enough not to mess with him; he wasn't messing with us," neighbor Howard Carpenter said.
Still, the bear did leave some souvenirs behind, including a muddy paw print. Ebanks said the animal “actually knocked down our neighbors' bird feeder and then went to the other cul de sac."
One video showed how the bear’s stroll became a sprint–right into a typically bustling Route 29.
"He's gonna get hit by a car!" one person exclaimed.
And then, they exhaled, as the Commonwealth cub shuffled off to the next neighborhood.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington said its plan was to leave the bear alone and let him make his way out of the county.
As far as where he’s headed next, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington says black bears usually follow waterways. So, it might continue south for at least a few days.
