A black bear naps in a tree near Plaza Boulevard in Kinston. Photo by Catherine Hardee / Neuse News

Residents on Darby Avenue in Kinston had an unusual visitor Wednesday.

An approximately 200-pound black bear was first spotted walking north on Darby Avenue toward Plaza Boulevard around 7:45 Wednesday morning.

Sheila O’Neal said she saw the bear as it came toward her house.

“He was coming down the street like he owned it,” O’Neal said. 

She quickly alerted her neighbors to the presence of the animal and watched as it climbed a tall tulip poplar tree in the backyard of residence across the street. One of the neighbors she alerted was L.B. Burney.

Burney said he had never seen a bear in the wild, but he hoped everything would turn out well for the animal and the neighborhood.

“I’m hoping it will go somewhere safe and sound and won’t hurt anybody,” Burney said.

Captain Kevin Jenkins with the Kinston Police Department Animal Control said the main concern for the KPD is the safety of the public, and for that reason he encourages everyone to stay away from the area until the bear leaves.

“When the people are gone and he feels safe, he will come down and go away,” Jenkins said.

Under no circumstances, he said, should anyone approach the bear or behave aggressively toward it. 

“Don’t taunt it, don’t throw anything at it, because it will come down and attack if provoked,” Jenkins warned.

He said residents on Darby Avenue should remain inside until the bear leaves. If someone does see a bear in their yard, they should call 911 and stay away from it.  The presence of spectators and news crews fascinated by the bear’s presence is keeping it in the tree and preventing it from leaving, Jenkins said. 

For the residents of Darby Avenue, the visitor may have been unwelcome, but in some ways it was fascinating. O’Neal said she had always wanted to see a bear, and she was fascinated to see one walking down her street. 

“Now I want to see a monkey,” O’Neal joked.