Black bear spotted in Murrysville neighborhood
MURRYSVILLE (KDKA) - A Murrysville family was shocked when they reviewed their home surveillance video and spotted a black bear on their property.
The Malik family said they didn't expect to see a black bear taking a late-night stroll down their driveway in the Settlers Ridge neighborhood of Murrysville. The video of the bear was captured around 2:15 a.m. on Monday.
"My mom was like Ghania we had a surprise guest last night. My dad pulls open the phone and shows me the video and it's like a bear and I'm like what? I wouldn't expect a bear, no one would. I thought it was going to be a raccoon or something," Nia Malik said.
The family posted the video on social media to alert the community and make sure people are aware of the unexpected visitor.
State game warden Mike Papinchak said officials have received calls about several bear sightings in the area over the last month, but there have been no subsequent calls.
He said the Pennsylvania Game Commission will only respond to a community to move a bear if it's causing problems or becoming too comfortable with humans. In fact, that's the only time it's necessary to report bear sightings.
"The last thing we would do is just kill it to accommodate somebody having on in their yard. They are so easy to live with. There is no need to remove them unless somebody starts to feed them and they get habituated to coming to a door for a food source. That's when you have issues," Papinchak said.
Since these big guys are not picky eaters, when there's a sighting, he suggests removing or securing food sources.
"The first thing I would do is just any neighbors, spread the word, to put away your bird feeders, garbage cans. It's a good idea to lock up your gas grills and stuff because they will come to lick the grease and things," Papinchak said.
Right now, Nia Malik isn't too concerned about their uninvited visitor.
"I'm not an outdoorsy person anyway. So, no, I don't think so. I think it's special when they come out anywhere," she said.
If you know a bear is in the area, Papinchak said to make noise before letting dogs outside or going to vehicles to make sure the bear is aware you're there, and then it will most likely keep moving on.
If a game warden needs to trap a bear, they tag them for research purposes, tattoo them, determine the sex, weigh them and find them a new home.