Bear spotted in Yarmouthport headed to Dennis

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (WHDH) -- A nearly 200-pound black bear that has been spotted in various towns on Cape Cod was spotted near a farm in Yarmouth on Wednesday.

In Yarmouthport, one man spotted the bear while riding his bike with his dog alongside him.

“[The dog] wanted to play with him and I told him no. And the dog knows what that means -- he stays right with me. I figured I’d better not stay there, so I just kept on riding my bike,” said Lee Childs.

Another man spotted the bear just over the town line in Dennis.

“Just loping along. And I saw him behind some houses, so I saw a Dennis policeman so I waved him down and he pulled over and the cop looked at me and the bear ran right behind him,” said Tony Crookshank.

Local and environmental police played a cat-and-mouse with the bear all day Wednesday. Police sent out automated calls warning residents to stay inside and watch their animals.

It’s believed the 2.5-year-old bear swam across the Cape Cod Canal near the Sagamore Bridge late Friday night or early Saturday morning. The animal is most likely searching for a mate as breeding season approaches.

But this bear is barking up the wrong tree.

“It’s kind of a dead-end situation for him. We don’t foresee bears getting on the Cape anytime soon,” said Jay Zimmer, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

There are no plans to tranquilize the bear unless it is found in a tree during daytime hours.