Another Bear Sighting Makes Waves Throughout Maryland

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A bear was seen wandering through a Maryland suburb Thursday.

If it sounds familiar, it’s because it’s just the latest in a growing trend of wild bear sightings in Maryland in the last year.

The most recent bear sighting occurred in Damascus, where Montgomery County Police say residents have reported numerous sightings of a black bear at and around Oak Ridge Park. Once again, police and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have reminded Marylanders that it is not uncommon to come across a wild bear in suburban areas during the summer months.

Police have cautioned anyone who sees a bear not to approach or feed the bear, and to never corner a bear, always allowing it an escape route.

The bear sighting in Damascus comes not long after the first sighting of the now-famous Poolesville Bear, whose sighting on Old Oaks Estate in Beallsville led to Internet fame in the form of a popular Facebook parody account. Another wild bear, spotted on Bethesda’s National Institute of Health campus last summer, also gained Internet fame through a similar social media parody account.

And those bears are far from outliers. There have also been bear sightings in Rockville, Howard County and even other parts of Montgomery County.

Image credit: Montgomery County Police