A bear was spotted in a south Fort Smith neighborhood Wednesday evening, according to those who live in the area.
Police, animal control and Game and Fish officials were called to an area at Fianna Way and St. Anthony to coax one Black bear out of a tree.
Neighbors said they also a bear and a cub, but Game and Fish officials only found one bear.
Little Adrian Hughes says he looked out the window and couldn't believe his eyes. The the bear was close to where he usually plays with his dad.
"It looked long and had a hump on its back and looked all shaggy and the hump was big and brown," Hughes said. "It was near the fence, so we could have got eaten up. My mother told me not to go out."
But Myron Means with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says there was no need to worry.
"They insight fear in people, but it's not neccessary," he said. "People are afraid. But the bear is more afraid usually."
The bear was seen earlier in the day in the area.
"My wife looked up, said 'there's a bear! 'It was about 20 feet from us," said Jim Curtis. "He didn't seem to be real aggressive, not anything that would make us go inside and lock the doors."
Officials used a tranquilizer to get the bear down.
Earlier this month, a bear cub was spotted at a Pocola Shopping Center.