Bear or no bear? Maryland wildlife officials get a report of a sighting in Prince George’s Co.

Jevon Butler was out for a bike ride near the Tucker Road Neighborhood Center in Fort Washington Maryland when he had a close encounter with a black bear The eighth grader was near the archery range near Bock Road which backs to a wooded area when he noted he stopped to check his phone And that s when he had an odd feeling I heard leaves moving but the day was not windy at all Then he communicated WTOP he saw it A black bear had popped out of the woods and was looking at him he reported It was I would say feet away from me then when I had made eye contact with it it just started chasing me he revealed Butler disclosed he hopped on his bike and was riding up the hill on Bock Road Butler explained after several time he saw the bear turn back and amble off into the woods He noted the cars along Bock Road had slowed down I m guessing they had seen it too Black bears may look slow and heavy but they can achieve bursts of speed of up to mph Sadly I didn t get to get any photos because I wasn t thinking of that he revealed His grandmother Sherry Ponder recounted WTOP that Butler raced home to tell her he d been chased by a bear She was at first skeptical I was like come on son come on are you sure she joked Maybe she thought he d just seen somebody s big black dog running loose But as he repeated the details of the story Ponder stated she decided to statement a bear sighting Because when he came in the house he was shaking she reported Gregg Bortz the media relations manager with the Maryland Department of Natural Tools revealed they did hear from Ponder about the sighting but haven t had any other reports and at this time we can t confirm anything However Bortz noted a black bear roaming in that area would certainly be attainable Bortz explained that in late August a black bear sighting was approved in Nanjemoy about miles away In May a black bear was spotted in a Prince George s County neighborhood and was relocated to Western Maryland That same bear then turned up in Herndon Virginia in mid-June before he was once again tranquilized and relocated to another more suitable location That bear was dubbed Elden memorialized with a proclamation and adopted as the new mascot for the Town of Herndon s Parks and Recreation Department Bortz reported Maryland s DNR advises anyone with questions about black bears to visit their website Living With Black Bears or consult the website BearWise org Source