Black bear spotted at Coventry homes this week. How many bears are there in RI?

A black bear recently made the rounds on Facebook when it was filmed in a residential neighborhood in Coventry.

It was spotted running through manicured lawns, and in another clip, which WPRI reported first, it was seen snacking at a neighborhood bird feeder, swiping down the pole for an easier reach.

Which serves as a reminder that bears are active now in Rhode Island.

Summer is when young bears leave home to find one of their own - and with no mom or dad to help them move in and get settled.

After having been hunted almost to the point of local extinction by settlers, black bears have made a comeback in New England. While welcome news for the species overall, this means less available territory for when adolescent bears strike out on their own. They will have to range further to afield in search of a new home, with their travels bringing some to the Ocean State.

Where are black bears in Rhode Island?

Black bears are mostly seen in the western and northwestern areas of the state where the habitat is most suitable, said Evan LaCross, spokesman for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management told the Providence Journal in April.

They prefer forested areas, with a mix of wetlands and meadows that will provide their preferred food of acorns, nuts and berries, such as rural parts of Providence, Kent and Washington Counties.

What months are black bears most active in Rhode Island?

While not true hibernators, black bears do often retreat to their dens during the winter months, emerging in the spring. However, this depends largely on food availability, so this behavior can vary from place to place or even year to year. Some bears can be active all year if there is a food source to sustain them.

While they will likely never turn down an easy meal, bears forage most intensively in the fall, when they need to build up fat reserves before denning, and the spring, when they need to replenish those same reserves after waking up.

How many black bears are there in Rhode Island?

Black bears were once common to Rhode Island before 1800 and have only just begun to return due to state and federal protection. The state's population of resident bears is still small, barely into the double digits, but expected to increase as numbers in neighboring states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut grow. The fact that most of the bears seen in Rhode Island in recent years are transient young males from these states, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's website, supports this projection.

Does Rhode Island have a black bear hunting season?

With such a small resident population, unsurprisingly, Rhode Island does not allow bear hunting.