The house is near Banchoff Park and Lore Elementary School
EWING -- A Ewing woman had an unexpected visitor Sunday when a bear wandered into her backyard for the second time in more than a month, giving her cause for concern.
Wendy Robinson, who lives on Willis Drive, was outside on her deck having coffee around 8:30 a.m. when a sound made her look up. A bear was standing over her bird feeder before it ran into a neighbor's yard and crossed the street toward a nearby creek.
But it wasn't the first sighting.
On April 24, she was outside with her golden retriever, Lady, around 9 p.m. when she thought she saw a deer -- a common sight in her neighborhood. But then it stood up and scared her and her dog, who started barking.
"I'm thinking that looks like a person, a tall man trying to rob my house, then I saw the little ears," Robinson said.
As she rushed back into the house to call police, the bear climbed up one of the trees. She never saw where it wandered off to, but it left behind paw marks.
Robinson said she guesses that the bears are living in Banchoff Park, which is near Lore Elementary School. She worries that the two bears are part of a family and it's only a matter of time before the protective mother bear makes an appearance.
"If it's a young one, the mother has to be nearby somewhere and if she sees anyone near a young bear, that's when they're ready to attack," she said.
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Police Capt. Dave Muller said officers went out, but were never able to find a bear. Robinson's calls, he said, have been the only recent reported bear sightings.
"We have this every year and it's generally not an issue," he said. "The bear is just looking for food."
Muller said though police notified the state's Division of Fish and Wildlife, they don't respond unless there's an issue with a bear becoming aggressive or violent. He said whenever there is a sighting, patrol officers will warn anyone walking in the area not to approach or feed the bear.
"It's rare that we even get to see the bear," Muller said. "They come and go before we get there."
In neighboring Hopewell Township, a Nursery Road resident reported to police that, overnight Sunday into Monday, a bear had roamed onto his property and tore up two of his beehives.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.