Bear walks by Vienna playground

VIENNA, Va. — Authorities say a bear wandered past a playground and garden in Vienna.

Lucy Caldwell, a Fairfax County police spokeswoman, says the bear sighting was reported to police at about 1 p.m. Monday on Trap Road. She says no humans came close to the bear. She says the bear appeared to be a juvenile.

This is the time of year when young bears leave their mothers to fend for themselves in the world, and many of them mistakenly wander into populated areas.

To keep bears away from your home, Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries recommend the following:

• Remove food sources.
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  Don’t store trash or anything that smells like food in vehicles, on porches or decks.

•  Keep trash containers in a garage, shed or basement, if possible.
• If you don’t have trash service, take your garbage to the dump frequently.
• If you have a trash collection, wait until the morning to put out your trash.
• If you see a bear, remove birdfeeders for a month after the sighting.
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  Install electric fencing around dumpsters, gardens, beehives, or other potential food sources.

Several have been spotted in Montgomery County lately, and at least two other bears were seen in Fairfax County in late May and again in June.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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