Black bear spotted in Fulton County

A black bear was spotted outside of Hickman on Thursday.

The sighting was confirmed by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.

This follows a sighting of a black bear last week about 15 miles to the south, near the Samburg community on Reelfoot Lake in Obion County, Tennessee. It's not known if this was the same bear in both sightings.

While black bears can be tolerant of people, they should always be treated as the wild animals they are, whether in a residential or backcountry area. Black bears are rarely aggressive towards people and typically go out of their way to avoid contact.