We’ve got bear, bear spotted in Woodland Heights – UPDATE: Bear injured found on Nickel Bridge

Update 11/8:
Report on Twitter from RPD:

Bear update: Black bear w/ injured paw near Boulevard Bridge. @Maymont biologist to tranquilize, transport for rehab. Road open.@VDGIF

A separate unconfirmed report states the bear was struck by a car.

More from RTD including a picture of the young bear.

Originally posted 11/7:
Several Woodland Heights neighbors reported seeing a black bear tat the end of W 33rd Street in the alley along the edge of Forest Hill Park around 9:30 PM Sunday night.

Some bear facts from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries:

• Of the three bear species (black, brown, and polar bears) in North America, only the black bear lives in Virginia. Shy and secretive, the sighting of a bear is a rare treat for most Virginians. However, bears are found throughout most of the Commonwealth, and encounters between bears and people are increasing.
• Black bears have a very diverse diet. They consume herbaceous plant parts, woody plant parts, flower/nectar/ pollen, fruit, terrestrial insects, juvenile and small mammals, juvenile and adult amphibians, and carrion. Bears are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, eating mostly plants in the spring, berries and insects in the summer, and nuts and berries in the fall. Carrion (dead animals) is often a part of a bear’s diet. Although not typically and an active predator, rare occurrences of livestock predation is reported each year.
• Bears may live up to 30 years in the wild. The oldest documented wild bear in Virginia was 26 years of age when it was killed.