BEACHWOOD, Ohio (WOIO) – Residents in several Northeast Ohio communities say they\u2019ve recently spotted black bears on home security cameras, including new videos and pictures from Beachwood, Pepper Pike and Garfield Heights.<\/p>\n
In Pepper Pike<\/a>, a black bear was recorded on a driveway camera Sunday around 12:30 a.m. <\/p>\n Another sighting was reported in Beachwood<\/a>, a bear was caught on camera in a backyard Sunday around 5 a.m. <\/p>\n \u201cI know we\u2019re close to Pennsylvania and I know there have been bears in other areas of Ohio, but no, not in my backyard. Definitely not,\u201d said Beachwood resident, Nancy Lipko. <\/p>\n Then, in Garfield Heights, video showed a black bear walking across another yard around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n I had no idea about those other bears until I posted my bear,” said a Garfield Heights resident. \u201cI have a dog and so I don\u2019t know how that would have turned out, you know. I might have had to fight a bear.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR)<\/a> says black bear sightings have become more common across the state. ODNR previously reported <\/a>it logged 537 bear sightings last year, the most ever recorded, up from 370 the year before. <\/p>\n The agency says the increase is largely due to growing bear populations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia pushing west into Ohio.<\/p>\n \u201cI spent the whole morning texting everyone the picture and saying, this was my yard, this is when it was, you know, keep your dogs on a leash,\u201d said Lipko.<\/p>\n