Some Long Islanders believed there was a bear roaming Bohemia late Monday evening after a Ring video of a supposed wild animal sighting started circulating on social media. But is it real?
Suffolk County Police Department responded to reports of the possible bear sighting Monday night. Officers searched the area near Louis Kossuth Ave. at about 8:30 p.m., but did not find a bear, nor signs that one had been there. According to the department, the video was timestamped Nov. 9, and the original social media post of the video has been taken down.
“[Officers] have yet to locate the person who posted it,” a spokesperson for Suffolk police said in an email to the Press. “Also, it appears the owner of the video took it down from the original post not long after it was initially posted but people had copied it and are circulating it.”
Strong Island Animal Rescue League was also called to the scene but saw no sign of a bear on the loose. They asked neighbors in their area to check their own Ring cameras, and none showed signs of the animal. Officials from the organization also say that the original post containing the Ring video has been taken down, and the individual who posted it has not come forward.
“There is no solid evidence at this time,” Strong Island Animal Rescue wrote in a Facebook post. “We know this could be a serious issue and are not writing it off, but at this time the original poster has not come forward and not shared exact location, and the fact that the post is down so quickly, it could be a hoax.”
The animal rescue organization said it would continue to work with police following any other tips or information.
Regardless of whether the report is real, it would not be the first time wild animals made news on Long Island, where a lynx was on the loose in Islip this summer, a bull was on the lam in Shirley for months last year and a cow was recently reported missing from Manorville.
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