Bear on the loose near Monsey New York.

A black bear is seen near Sixth Avenue and Front Street in Nyack about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. A crowd of about 20 residents surrounded the bear, which climbed a tree but later left on its own
















A girl and her mother were walking the family labradoodle this evening when they came across something they had never seen in the village before.

"It was crazy," said 11-year-old Amanda McNulty of 87 Front St., "My dad grew up in the county and said he had never seen a bear in Nyack."

The animal, apparently a young black bear, had climbed a tree near a home at the corner of 6th Avenue and Front Street about 7:15 p.m., drawing a crowd of about 20 onlookers, McNulty said.

A brief time later, the animal climbed down and left without bothering anyone, McNulty said.

Clarkstown police said the bear was later sighted on Highland Avenue and again on North Midland Avenue in Upper Nyack. The sightings prompted police to issue a

reverse 911 call to area residents urging them to pull in their bird feeders and close their garbage cans.

"Basically it's looking for food," said Clarkstown Police Sgt. Brian Gorsky. "If there's no food, it's going to go away."

Gorsky said black bears, when cornered, can become aggressive. He urged anyone spotting a bear to avoid the animal, but to avoid calling 911 unless someone's life is in danger.

The Department of Environmental Conservation was notified of the sighting, Gorsky said.