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Black bear eludes Bensalem police

A black bear was spotted Friday morning in Bensalem near a wooded area along the Neshaminy Creek, a point several miles south of the last bear sighting in Warrington last summer.

A black bear was spotted Friday morning in Bensalem near a wooded area along the Neshaminy Creek, a point several miles south of the last bear sighting in Warrington last summer.

Bensalem police located and pursued the bear - they estimated it weighed about 175 pounds - but lost it in the afternoon and gave up the search. They then warned residents to stay clear of the animal and call polcie if it was sighted.

Last June, police captured a young black bear near the Valley Square Shopping Center in Warrington. The bear apparently had come to Bucks from New Jersey, crossing a bridge or swimming the Delaware.

Pennsylvania's black bear population has increased steadily from 4,000 in the 1970s to 14,000, and bears have reestablished themselves in upper Bucks County.

- Ben Finley