Saraland becomes ‘Bear-a-land’ as residents adjust to their furry neighbors

You may have noticed the logo for “The Land,” Saraland’s new $72 million sports complex currently being constructed on Celeste Road, features a bear.

The logo, which depicts a bear climbing up a hill, is a reference to the topography of the site. The complex is being constructed on a hillside. But the bear is a playful reference to something almost every Saraland resident has experienced: finding a bear in your backyard.

“Bears are everywhere in Saraland,” Ashley-Nicole Flowers, the city’s director of Parks and Recreation, says. “If you live in Saraland, you’ve seen a bear or have a bear looking through your trash.”

Flowers says that it’s more likely in Saraland to see a bear than a deer. They’re often spotted in backyards or digging through the trash. They’ve even been spotted on Celeste Road, near the future site of The Land.

And even though bears haven’t been spotted at The Land site while construction is underway during the day, telltale paw prints reveal they’ve been visiting the site at night. Prints from deer and other animals have also been spotted.

It’s not a surprise to Traci Wood that Saraland residents frequently see bears. Wood, a conservation coordinator with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, works with Auburn University researchers to study black bears in the state. Mobile County is home to one of two “reproducing” populations of black bears in Alabama, she says.

That reproducing population is located near Saraland. And the approximately 125 bears in that population stay primarily within a 10-mile radius.

“People think they’re seeing a lot of bears, but they’re really seeing the same bears over and over again,” Wood says.

Bears are very motivated by food, and Wood says that black bears, in particular, will search for the easiest food source possible, hence why Saraland residents often see the bears on trash day. With the fast pace of development in south Alabama, particularly fast-growing towns like Saraland, human and bear interactions are going to increase, she says.

Researchers are wondering what the future holds for Saraland’s bear population, which has little opportunity to expand their range and don’t seem to disburse, Wood says. Will the bears move to a new location, or will they stay and adjust to their new, suburban habitat?

If you see a black bear, in Saraland or otherwise, don’t panic, Wood says. Bears generally don’t like humans and don’t want to be near humans. If need be, you should stand very tall, put your hands in the air, clap and yell, making as much noise as possible. Walk backwards slowly until you get where you need to be. The website bearwise.org offers more tips on dealing with bears, she says.

Residents who encounter bears should report the sighting to the DCNR online, she says, which helps the department track and monitor the black bear population. If a resident has a question about a bear encounter, they can reach out to the department and get more information.