It’s not every day we see a bear taking a stroll downtown, but that was apparently the case on Sunday.

Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong shared a photo of a bear, taken by a Vicksburg Police Department shift supervisor, making his way through downtown toward the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the bear had been spotted several times Sunday morning.

Officials said the bear didn’t seem to be aggressive. Still, law enforcement officers warned residents, if they see the bear, to not approach it, to move indoors and the call 9-1-1.

“Just leave the bear alone,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace advised. “He’s moving and he’ll move along. We don’t want anyone endangered and we don’t want the bear endangered.”

While a bear sighting downtown is unusual, spotting a bear this time of year is not.

Richard Rummel, black bear biologist with the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, said this time of year is when bears’ favorite foods, like berries, are coming into season.

Bears, too, are coming into season, Rummel said. It’s when they breed, and cubs born in January 2015 are being kicked out of their homes and sent on their way by their mothers, he said.

Rummel said black bears are docile and shy by nature. Still, they could become aggressive if they feel threatened.

He suggests keeping garbage secured and taking inside any pet food left on porches or patios. Rummel said bears’ sense of smell is so keen they will be able to find any food left out and will come back night after night to find it.

He also suggested picking up any fruit that has dropped to the ground from a fruit tree in your yard.

While spotting a bear sounds fun, getting close to it or engaging the bear in any way simply puts the bear’s life in danger.

For your own safety, and for the safety of the bear, please leave it alone.