Salem doorbell camera owner reacts to bear family appearance

SALEM, Va. – A Salem woman was shocked to find four unexpected visitors on her front porch. A family of bears moved through the Beverly Heights neighborhood on Monday.

Neighbor Megan Wardle said she’s seen foxes, she’s seen deer, but she’s never seen a bear — let alone a whole family in her neighborhood.

“It’s just something you might not see in your whole life,” Wardle said. “It was right on my front porch.”

A mama bear and three cubs made their way up onto the porch before they decided to move along.

Wardle said she was shocked when she got the doorbell camera alert on her phone.

“I thought it was a dog walker or someone delivering something,” Wardle said. “Then I actually looked at it and it was a bear, right in the camera, and then I realized it had cubs with it, which is just wild.”

Wardle ran to the window to see if they were still there, but they were gone. However, she said they did take her trash.

Wildlife experts say to prevent bears from showing up on your porch, you should put away your garbage, as well as pet food and bird seed.

Wardle said she and others in the neighborhood will be more cautious from now on.

“Definitely like more aware now,” Wardle said. “My neighbor, next door, was like, oh she’s going to take extra caution when she walks her dogs in the morning and make sure they’re leashed and things like that.”

A Department of Wildlife Resources official said they have no plans to respond at this time, since they expect the bears to move along.


About the Author:

Amy Cockerham joined the 10 News team in January 2023.