A black bear was recently spotted roaming through the backyard of a Dickson County home, adding to a growing number of sightings reported across Middle Tennessee.
The sighting occurred June 4 on Jesse Work Road, where a resident captured video of what appeared to be a large black bear in the backyard. The resident described the encounter as “a BIG Black Bear” and noted a brief standoff involving the family dog and a deer.
The sighting comes as the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is reminding Middle Tennesseans that black bears are on the move during the spring and early summer months. According to the agency, several counties have reported recent black bear sightings, including Hickman, Dickson, Wilson and Sumner counties.
TWRA said Tennessee’s black bear population is primarily concentrated on the Cumberland Plateau and in East Tennessee, but bears historically ranged across the entire state. Each spring, yearling bears leave their mothers and travel in search of new territory, which can bring them into parts of Middle Tennessee where sightings are less common.
The agency said a bear passing through a neighborhood is not usually cause for alarm. However, if a bear lingers in an area, it may have found easily accessible food sources such as unsecured garbage, pet food or bird seed.
TWRA encourages residents to avoid feeding or approaching bears, secure garbage and outdoor food sources, remove bird feeders when bears are active and alert neighbors to nearby bear activity.
Residents can report sightings through TWRA’s “I Saw A Bear” reporting system as wildlife biologists track bear movement across the state.
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