A black bear crashed through a glass door in downtown Clintonville early Thursday morning.
According to the Clintonville Police Department, two reports of a black bear in the downtown area were received shortly before 3:30 a.m.
The initial report was that the bear had been spotted on the sidewalk in front of the First State Bank about 20 minutes earlier.
A second caller reported that the bear crashed through a glass storefront door at D. Mitchell Interiors on South Main Street across from the bank.
The bear was last seen heading east through Olen Park towards the river.
A statue of a small black bear in the display window at D. Mitchell interiors may have had something to do with the live bear trying to gain entry. Dan Mitchell and his son Andy found a large tuft of black fur near the broken glass.
This is the second such sighting this year in the community.
On May 14 at about 8 a.m., residents saw a black bear walking along the bank of the Pigeon River Pond just off of Park Lane on the west edge of town.
Officers attempted to locate the bear, but they believed it either continued along the river bank out of the city or crossed Lakeshore Road into a wooded area.
Bear sightings in and near Clintonville. They may be going through garbage to find food.
Residents are advised not to interfere with a bear, but should instead immediately call the police.
“I did talk to an area warden and he feels the bear may be coming into town because someone may be feeding it,” said Police Chief Terry Lorge. “He warned against people feeding bears intentionally because of the problems it could cause. He also stated that it may be a young male bear (2 years old or less) that was kicked out of the den by the mother and he may be trying to find his own way.”