UPDATE, July 11, 11:54 a.m.: The Marion Police Department confirmed a sighting of a black bear off Patridge Place in north Marion this morning around 9:15 a.m. According to a press release issued by Chief Lincoln Miller, the bear was eating from a bird feeder in a resident's backyard, then ran off once alerted to the human.

July 10: The Mattapoisett Police Department responded to a black bear sighting at 10:30 a.m. on El Dorado Drive, just north of I-195. According to resident Joseph Olivier, his wife Patricia spotted the animal at the cul-de-sac by their mailbox on her way to work.

Neighbor Susan Linhares and her husband, Frank, were walking in the woods around the time the sighting happened.

“[The bear] was basically in our backyard,” she said. “It was a surprise to come back to the house hearing the dogs barking and seeing the police at our door.” Though the Linhares didn’t see the bear, it does not surprise her that one is in the area. A pond could supply drinking water, and numerous berry plants grow in the woods.

“We’re not afraid to encounter it,” she said. “It’s nature. Of course if it showed up, I’d take pictures of it from inside my house.”

If you spot the bear, use caution and contact the Mattapoisett Police Department at (508) 758-4141 or dial 911.

Sippican Week will be updating this story as it develops. Be sure to check our Twitter feed, @sippicanweek for updates as well.