Neighbors surprised by bear in Spartanburg County neighborhood

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Residents in one Spartanburg County neighborhood had an unexpected visitor when they arrived home Wednesday evening.

Pacolet residents in the area of Pine Drive and Elizabeth Street spotted a young bear in their area Wednesday.

“We’ve never seen anything like it here,” said Cheryl Cooke, who shared photos and videos of the bear sitting in a tree outside of her home.

“He was a good sized bear,” added Cooke. “We have never seen anything like it before.”

After it was initially spotted, the bear hung out in Cooke’s tree for more than hour before climbing down.

“The Pacolet police came and stayed with us… (The bear) stayed up in the tree for over an hour, then came down and started eating from my bird feeder,” she said. “He just sauntered off toward the garden and ended up coming out down at my stepdaughters house another street over.”

The bear was last spotted following railroad tracks towards Pacolet.

According to Bear Team, a volunteer education group based in Minnesota, the early summer months are the time of year when adolescent bears begin to break away from their family and start exploring the world.

During this time they are naturally inquisitive and, like anyone with teenagers can attest, may find themselves getting into trouble or causing mischief for their human neighbors.

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