NEWBERG, Ore. — A young black bear was spotted moving through north Newberg neighborhoods Sunday and Monday, prompting a handful of calls to the Newberg-Dundee Police Department and drawing attention from local wildlife observers.
“We did receive a handful of calls on a young black bear running around town Sunday and Monday,” said Capt. Ryan Simmons of the Newberg-Dundee Police Department. “Our last report of the bear from a citizen was 7:20 a.m. yesterday. There have been no other sightings since then.”
According to KOIN6 News, the bear was shot and killed in Canby on May 23.
Simmons said residents who spot the bear should contact the Newberg-Dundee Police Department, which will relay information to Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife. A state trooper has already been notified of the bear’s presence in Newberg, he said.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife did not respond to a request for comment about the bear’s current status.
Bradley Joyce, a Newberg resident and president of the Oregon Bear Foundation, said he believes the bear is a young male recently pushed out of its mother’s territory — a common occurrence in late spring.
“This bear looks like a young 1- to 2-year-old bear,” said Joyce, who learned about the bear sighting when residents posted photos and videos of the bear to the Newberg-Dundee Community Group on Facebook. “Momma bears will typically kick their cubs out of the den, so to speak, in year two, usually, though sometimes it can happen earlier. It’s likely in this case that this cub’s mother sent him on his way to find his own living situation.”
Joyce said male cubs tend to travel farther than females before establishing a home range, which may explain the bear’s appearance in an urban area. He added that despite the unusual sighting, the behavior is consistent with what wildlife observers know about the species.
“My family has lived in Newberg since the ’70s, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a bear sighting in town like yesterday,” Joyce said.
Black bears generally seek to avoid human contact, Joyce said, but curiosity can lead them into populated areas. He recommended that anyone who encounters the bear act large and make noise.
“Typically when encountering a black bear, one or two loud yells and acting big will get it to move on,” he said.
Joyce also noted that Oregon’s black bear population is healthy and expanding. The Oregon Bear Foundation estimates the state is home to more than 44,000 black bears — a population Joyce described as robust and increasing. He said habitat reduction combined with population growth has the potential to produce more human-bear interactions going forward.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, black bears are the most common bear species in North America. Oregon’s bears are omnivores with a varied diet that includes berries, fruit, grasses, plants, insects, and small mammals.
The agency notes that bears should never be allowed access to human food or garbage, as doing so habituates them to people and can lead to dangerous conflicts. Once a bear becomes habituated to finding food near homes, it can become a threat to human safety and may need to be euthanized.
Simmons echoed the importance of public awareness, pointing residents to ODFW’s “Living with Black Bears” guidance online.
Residents are asked to call the Newberg-Dundee Police Department if the bear is spotted again. The department will coordinate with Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife.
Update May 25 at 3:36 p.m. — Updated with the status of the bear as reported by KOIN6 News.
