Bears spotted in metro Atlanta | What experts say to do if you encounter one

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]The Georgia Department of Natural Resources say that bears are on the move. They're being spotted right here in the metro. 11 Alive's Chase Hall, he spoke with the Department of Natural Resources about what to do if you see one.

[00:00:12]>> There's a saying when it comes to bears.

[00:00:14]If it's brown, lay down. If it's black, fight back. And if it's white, good night. So, I wanted to find out if that was true or not after multiple bears have been spotted at some apartment complexes here in Marietta.

[00:00:29]A mama bear and her two cubs were spotted roaming around an apartment complex in Cobb County Wednesday afternoon.

[00:00:36]>> That's crazy.

[00:00:37]>> Man, that's crazy. Look at those bears.

[00:00:39]>> There's like three of them.

[00:00:40]>> Jamar Teasley and his son, Jamar Jr., are shocked to see that these bears could be roaming in the woods so close to them.

[00:00:47]>> Being the fact that there are soccer fields around and we love to play soccer and we actually train right down the street.

[00:00:55]I'm a little nervous about that. And the big question is, is the bear going to be anywhere out while we're playing soccer?

[00:01:03]>> Teasley poses a good question, but the bigger one here is, is it strange to see black bears being in such a populated area as Marietta?

[00:01:12]>> During this time of year, it's normal to see black bears come down from North Georgia toward the metro area.

[00:01:17]>> Blake Graber is a biologist from Georgia's Department of Natural Resources. He says if you encounter a bear, don't give it food.

[00:01:25]>> That's kind of where the problems come in with these human bear conflicts where the bears feel a little bit too comfortable with humans and being around humans and then it creates possibly a scenario where humans are just coming too close to the bears and it creates a dangerous situation.

[00:01:42]>> And if you do find yourself too close to a black bear, >> we recommend making yourself big. If you're with a group of people, stay close together so that you can make yourselves as big as you possibly can and then, you know, putting your hands up in the air and making as much noise as you possibly can.

[00:01:58]>> I did ask Grayber whether or not DNR tries to relocate the bears once they make it to the metro, and he tells me they try not to intervene because relocating the bears can often times lead to their death because he says bears try to make it back to where they came from, and that could lead to them getting hit by vehicles or stepping into another bear's territory. In Marietta, Chase Howell, 11Alive News.