Hoover couple spots bear in backyard

HOOVER, AL (WBRC) - Saturday morning was anything but typical for Jamie Riddle and his wife.

A black bear was just feet away from them. It was spotted in the back yard of their Greystone Highlands Circle home.

"We just saw this black bent over object coming towards us. I'm sure our eyes got this big and I looked at my wife and said it's a bear," said Riddle. "I would love to tell you I was prepared. I wasn't. I was just scared."

Despite only having a wooden fence separate the couple from the bear, they managed to stay calm.

"I looked at my wife and I said, 'Don't move,' and we just froze. We just turned to watch him, I  guess go up about 35 feet into the woods. He stayed there for an hour and a half. He just looked at us he entire time. He kept his eye on us and we kept our eye on him," said Riddle.

The couple also had the right mind to call for help.

"The cop said he could easily come over that fence if he wanted to," said Riddle.

The bear eventually went further into the woods and disappeared from sight, but now they're concerned

"He was not a cub. He was not a baby bear by any stretch. Our concern, is there more and what happens if they walk up on this bear and there's not a fence separating them," said Riddle.

The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries says if you encounter a bear to keep calm, give it space to leave the area, let other folks know you've seen the bear and call the department to report it.

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