Local

WATCH: Sleeping bear spotted in College Park tree

ORLANDO, Fla. — A small black bear was spotted sleeping in a tree in a College Park neighborhood Monday evening.

The bear was seen at about 6:45 p.m. at Northeast Ivanhoe Boulevard and Oakmont Lane near the northern shore of Lake Ivanhoe.

Channel 9 was the first news organization at the scene.

The bear drew a crowd of onlookers, some of whom read about the sighting on the Nextdoor app. Wildlife officers cleared the area to give the bear some space.

The tree is less than 100 yards from the I-4 Ultimate project construction zone.

"Where would a bear come from?" resident Lisa Snyder said. "You just wonder what the bear's journey was to get here, you know?"

Keith Hudson said he has never seen a bear in the neighborhood, where he has lived his entire life.

"I saw the crowd, and I asked a neighbor ... 'What's the deal?' And he goes, 'There's a bear in the tree,'" Hudson said. "I looked up and saw a big furry brown butt in the tree, and that's my first encounter with a bear."

The bear climbed down the tree and ran away shortly before 9 p.m. Monday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Residents are asked to call FWC if they spot the bear.

A bear on April 28 became trapped in a Longwood couple's SUV. Click here to watch the video.