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 tree is less than 100 yards from the I-4 Ultimate project construction zone.
[ Photos: Bear in College Park tree ]
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.
"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.
[ Watch: Bear spotted in College Park tree ]
"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.
[ Watch: 'Here, bear,' says Longwood woman trying to coax bear out of SUV ]