Mama bear and 4 cubs caught on camera in Lawrence County family's yard
Across southwestern Pennsylvania, there have been multiple recent sightings of black bears. This week, in one of those sightings, the wild animals got extra close to a family in Lawrence County.
While she was asleep, little did Susan Zehetner know a baby black bear was invading her privacy.
"He kind of props himself up, and he was, he could have been looking in the bedroom window," Zehetner said.
It wasn't just one bear, but five.
"I see mama bear coming up, and I thought, 'oh, wow, is that a baby next to her?' And then I was like, 'there's another baby, oh my gosh, there's three babies,' and there were four babies," Zehetner said.
They were captured on her surveillance camera in Slippery Rock Township just after midnight on Wednesday. She only checked the video after finding a planter in her front yard knocked over.
Nearly one week earlier, her husband came face-to-face with a bear by their garage. Zehetner said he heard a "loud snort." But thankfully, it ran away.
Zehetner's husband made the right choice, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Warden Lieutenant Andy Harvey said if you come across a black bear, stand your ground because usually they want to get away from people.
"Make noise," Harvey said. "You don't want to run from a black bear. A black bear is very fast. It can outrun a person. The important thing is, black bear attacks with people are very, very rare."
Nonetheless, the Zehetners are being careful, putting away birdfeeders, and keeping their eyes and ears open.
"I just don't want anybody to get hurt," Zehetner said. "I don't want problems. I don't want any distractions, so, hopefully, mama keeps them in the woods. If they show back up, we just see them on the cameras. We don't want to come face to face with them again."
It is mating season, so it's possible you can have a similar interaction. For more tips on what to do if you see a black bear and how to keep you and family safe, the Game Commission recommends visiting bearwise.org.