Black bear seen in Abbeville

Black bears have been spotted in Vermilion Parish on numerous occasions, so to see one is not anything new.
To see one deep in the heart of Abbeville, however, is something altogether different.
Some residents near the downtown area experienced such a visit last week.
One resident, who wished not to be identified, on Jefferson Street said she saw the bear around 8:30 p.m on Tuesday, July 29. She heard it first.
“I was sitting on my front porch waiting for my neighbor to come across the street,” she said. “Naturally, it was dark. All of a sudden, I heard this sound. I don’t even know how to describe it, but it was very ferocious.
“I jumped out of my chair and landed in the middle of the porch.”
Then she had a visual.
“When I turned around I could see him,” the witness said. “He was under the light.
“All I saw was his mouth. It was open, and it was big.”
The witness said the bear walked near her carport but never went near the front of the home.
“He didn’t see me,” she said. “He just turned and went toward town.”
Jackie Valdetero, who lives on South Main Street, also had a run-in with the bear as she traveled home in her vehicle. The bear, coming up from around the Vermilion River, crossed Valdetero’s path on South Main Street and went into the driveway of a nearby home next to the Old Masonic Cemetery.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Valdetero said. “The size of it was startling. It was at least four-feet tall at the shoulders, on all fours.”
Valdetero was about 40 yards from the bear.
“I was in may car,” Valdetero said of what eased any potential fear. “I was still startled and there was some fear because there is a bear in town.
“What is it doing in town?”
Maria Davidson, a large carnivore specialist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said the answer can be easily explained.
“Bears travel this time of year in search of mates,” said Davidson, who came to Abbeville in response to Tuesday’s sighting. “It’s not terribly surprising that sightings can occur.
“The bear doesn’t have a GPS, so he doesn’t know if his travels are going to take him into a populated area.”
Along with Davidson, officers with the Abbeville Police Department responded.
“I called the police,” the witness who lives on Jefferson Street said. “They told me not to worry because they were on top of the situation.”
There are no reports that the bear had any close or direct contact with any humans or pets.
Still, Natalie Scott, who lives on Jefferson Street and enjoys walking in the area, said the idea that a bear was spotted is a bit unnerving.
“I didn’t see it,” Scott said of the bear. “We have not walked in the week that it has been seen. What would get me back out there, I guess, is if they found the bear.”
The bear was reportedly last seen on July 29 by the river on South Main Street, near Pere Megret Street. There have been no reported sightings in the last week.
Abbeville Police Department Lt. David Hardy said if there is another sighting, do not attempt to interact or make contact with the animal.
“Call the proper authorities,” Hardy said. “Whether that is the police, (Vermilion Parish) Sheriff’s Office or Wildlife and Fisheries, call someone.”
Davidson agreed. She said Wildlife and Fisheries can be contacted at 1-800-442-2511.
“Don’t feed the bear, ever,” Davidson warned.
Davidson said the bear is not likely to pose a grave threat if it finds its way into a city and is left alone.
“Bears are not going to freak out,” Davidson said. “If you give them a little bit of space and privacy, they are typically going to find their way out of town, just like this one did. More often than not, they can find their way out of town.
“That is the best-case scenario, for the bear to find its own way out of town.”
The woman who lives on Jefferson said she is not likely to erase from her memory the time this bear made its way to Abbeville.
“That was a BIG mouth,” she said of the bear, “and it made such a noise.
“It is something I won’t soon forget.”