If you see a black bear hanging around Warren County, don’t fret – he’s just a young lad going for a stroll.

Over the past few days, there have been multiple bear sightings in the Smiths Grove area. One showed up Wednesday in the front yard of Robert Lightning, principal of Bowling Green Junior High School.

“It was probably 100 yards away,” Lightning said. “At first, I couldn’t really make out what it was.”

As Lightning and his family went outside, the bear moved about 50 yards closer, he said. While Lightning is used to encountering wildlife in Kentucky, he said he’d never seen a bear so close to home.

“It was a little shocking,” he said.

Lightning reported the sighting to Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is now monitoring the situation and taking calls from those who have seen the bear – or bears.

While there are two or three young male bears wandering around Kentucky early every summer – in fact, there’s another stray bear currently scouting out the Fayette-Madison county line – they don’t typically migrate this far west, said John Haft, Kentucky bear biologist.

Smiths Grove “is not a spot they show up very often,” he said.

When young bears end up outside eastern Kentucky, it typically means they have been kicked out of their normal territory by older male bears who don’t want the competition during breeding season.

Their mothers also may push them to go off on their own. Their exploratory trek is akin to a “little walk,” Haft said.

Black bears are secretive creatures that prefer a nocturnal schedule. If you encounter one, don’t move closer to take a photo or video, Haft suggested.

“Give it plenty of space,” Haft said. “Consider yourself lucky that you’ve been able to see it.”

If he’s left alone, the bear shouldn’t be a danger to anyone.

However, residents in the Smiths Grove area should secure their garbage cans in their garages or somewhere else out of a bear’s reach until the coast is clear, to be safe.

As to where the little black bear is hanging around now?

“There’s no telling,” Haft said. “We just let them wander, and I guarantee he’ll be back in eastern Kentucky within a month.”

Safe travels, Mr. Black Bear.

– Follow regional reporter Sarah Michels on Twitter @sarah_michels13 or visit bgdailynews.com.