Black bear spotted in north Raleigh

A 911 caller said he and his wife were out for a walk when they spotted the animal near the corner of New Falls of Neuse Road and Wakefield Pines Drive. 

"He ran from the shopping plaza where Dunkin' Donuts and Kerr Drugs is, and ran across into the neighborhood – into the Wakefield Pines neighborhood," the caller said. 

"It was a big bear," he added.

Several WRAL viewers said they saw a black bear miles away in a neighborhood off Watkins Road on Saturday. It's not clear whether it's the same bear. 

Sara Enanga said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw "a very big black bear" on her neighbor's driveway two doors down. Her nephews, aged 5 and 7, had passed that driveway as they rode their bikes down the street.

"I was thinking about the kids," Enanga said. "I was thinking it was just like a dream."

In recent days, Amanda Liles said she has seen both a bear and a coyote in her neighborhood.

"I can't separate them," she said. "They both scare me."

Valerie Mbella said neighbors are watching out for one another.

"My next-door neighbor came over here twice to see if we were okay, had we seen it again," she said. "Then I had a neighbor say they saw the bear go through our backyard."

Police are asking residents to be on alert and to stay away from the animal.

Officers, meanwhile, are trying to locate the bear, which was last seen fleeing into a wooded area in Wake County. 

A photo of the bear was not available.