OLNEY, Md. — It was a weird weekend for people who live in Olney.
On Friday, a tornado tore through the area for less than a minute and on Saturday a black bear was spotted walking around a neighborhood.
Mark and Anita Brady of Olney were spending the holiday weekend in Ocean City, but when they checked their home security footage, they noticed an odd intruder stopping by their front door at around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday: a black bear walked right up to their front door and then turned around.
Anita Brady texted her neighbors and friends in the Olney area warning them about the bear she saw outside her home.
"It's frightening and completely unexpected to see a bear in my yard," Anita Brady said in a message to WUSA9. "Thank goodness we weren't walking our dog at the same time."
The Brady family isn't the only household in Olney to notice a bear in their yard.
WUSA9 received a video submission through the "Near Me" feature on our app from Elizabeth Harp. She said the bear showed up at her Olney home Saturday morning.
“He got into the can that we keep birdseed in and made himself a nice meal and decided to hang out under the deck where it was nice and cool," Harp said.
Harp said the bear stayed out there for several hours Sunday hanging out under the deck. She said it also took down her bird feeder and rummaged through the bin they store the bird seen in.
“It wasn’t as shocking as it would have been if we hadn't known that there was one wandering around," Harp said.
The Washington Post reported on May 24 that a Silver Spring woman captured footage of a black bear in her yard laying down and eating seeds from a bird feeder.
Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told the Post that they believe the bear in Silver Spring was a 1.5-year-old male who weighed between 100 to 200 pounds. It's unclear if the bear (or bears) from the Olney videos is the same bear spotted roaming Silver Spring.
Montgomery Parks posted on its Facebook page on May 25 that black bear sightings have become a common occurrence in Montgomery County between May and July.
"During this time, solitary bears (most often young males) strike out on their own, sometimes traveling considerable distances in search [of] their own suitable home range," the post says.
According to Montgomery Parks, by the end of summer, young male bears usually travel to "more desirable areas in western Maryland."
Montgomery Parks noted that while some people may be excited to see bears, others can find it alarming.
Anita Brady said she is definitely alarmed about the idea of a bear in her Hallowell neighborhood of Olney.
"What I worry about most is my house is next to a school bus stop and I'm concerned about kids encountering the bear waiting for their bus," she said.
Maryland DNR has a webpage about "Living with Black Bears" that provides advice about best practices when dealing with bears.
"The best way to avoid bear problems is to take precautions to not attract them in the first place," the website says.
In order to not attract bears, people should be aware of garbage-like odors that could possibly attract bears as well as bird feeders.
"Once a bear finds food around your home it will likely return," DNR says.
DNR advises people to leave a bear alone. If a bear comes close, back away slowly. Bears are afraid of people, DNR says, but if it refuses to leave have an escape route or scare it away with live noises.
“Let's hope he’s going far away to Western Maryland or something now where he can find a nice place for himself," Harp said.