The few seconds of footage from Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood gives a sense of the daily life and natural doings of a black bear in a populous suburb, just outside of bustling D.C.
In that snippet and in another that has been posted on social media, the animal moves about on all fours, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, cocking its head or pointing its snout as if in search of sustenance, with a lively curiosity about the world in general.
The animal’s irregular path and random stops and starts resembled the movements of a dog out for a walk. So, in a way, the animal’s performance seemed familiar, but the performer appeared a bit out of place.
At one point in the Cherrydale video, the bear moves off toward a paved street and seems to make a calm decision to slow down and allow a car to pass by. The animal has apparently acquired street wisdom and was less startled by the moving car than might be expected of an inexperienced child of nature.
Before the car passes, only a few feet away, the bear moves at a leisurely pace. But once the car goes by, it takes several quick steps while looking in the direction from where the vehicle came.
A few seconds later, the animal crosses the road and vanishes into a green patch on the other side.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington referred to a similar animal in a social media message posted two days earlier.
The league’s posting said a young black bear was spotted Thursday in Arlington by a member of the public. Sightings were continuing as of Saturday, it said, including in the Rivercrest and Bellevue Forest neighborhoods.
The sightings were confirmed by the agency’s animal control officers, the group said.
Describing the bear as apparently healthy, the agency said it was “likely a young male yearling moving through Arlington County in his search for a new home habitat.”
The agency warned, however, that when bears have been sighted in Arlington in the past, people have engaged in the dangerous activity of searching on their own for the animals.
It asked that those spotting the bear in question, or other bears, call the agency immediately at (703) 931-9241 and keep a safe distance or stay indoors.
To avoid attracting bears, it suggested such measures as securing garbage and compost piles, taking down bird feeders, and cleaning porches, decks and grills.
It also said a screened-in porch is not a “secure” storage area “from a bear’s point of view.”
The carcass of a 100-pound black bear was recently found in Arlington in a plastic bag. It was determined, according to the Animal Welfare League, that a bear had been picked up in Prince William County by a contractor for the state transportation department after being struck by a vehicle on Interstate 66. The league said the animal was then dumped in Arlington.