Rehoboth Facebook Group Suggests There’s a Black Bear in Town

Another summer, another black bear sighting on the SouthCoast, this time in the town of Rehoboth – at least, if you believe social media.

Last year, we followed the return of “Boo Boo” the bear to Southeastern Massachusetts, followed by his apparent unfortunate meeting with a van while crossing Interstate 195 and subsequent death.

New year, new bear.

Wednesday night, just before 7 p.m., a person posted in the “Rehoboth Talk” Facebook group that a black bear had been spotted in the Anawan/Perryville area of town.

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Original poster Bill Morrell said the bear was spotted in a neighbor’s yard. Lilah Thompson Medeiros confirmed the bear sighting.

“The video is hard to make out, they were napping very close to my trail cam,” she wrote. “But footprints still remain. Certainly surprised us at midnight when going out to lock doors on (the) barn.”

A few other commenters chimed in that bears had been seen in the area recently, although nobody produced a photo or video of any bear incidents.

We called over to Rehoboth Police headquarters, and the dispatcher said she was unaware of any bear sightings being reported in the area recently.

A call placed to Rehoboth Animal Control has not yet been returned.

Black bears have been seen in recent years on the SouthCoast during the mating season, which takes place during the summer months.