Major Roads Closed During Rush Hour as Police Deal with Wildlife

Sightings of wildlife near a Hudson Valley school is forcing police to close down major roads during rush hour.

On Friday around 8 a.m., a reader contacted Hudson Valley Post about a bear sighting on the westbound Arterial in Poughkeepsie near the Holy Trinity School on Springside Avenue in Poughkeepsie.

Chris Calabrese noted a little black bear cub was sitting in a tree off the Arterial near the Catholic School, adding "Usually if there's a cub Big Mama's not too far behind."

Town of Poughkeepsie police wouldn't confirm a bear sighting but did say wildlife forced police to close down some roads.

Main Street in the Arlington area and the Westbound Arterial are closed as of this writing as first responders try to remove the wildlife, police say. The Town of Poughkeepsie spokesperson noted wildlife officials were called to help remove the wildlife.

Seven bears were recently released back into the wild in the Hudson Valley. The DEC announced the rehabilitated bears were brought to undisclosed locations in Sullivan and Ulster counties.

The Hudson Valley has seen an increase in bear sightings in recent weeks, and that's to be expected. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently warned about bears coming out of hibernation in search of food.

During the Taste of Country Music Festival, bears entered tents in the camping area and ate some food. Around the same time, a bear was filmed running near a number of homes in Beacon.

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This past Monday, Kingston police say a bear was spotted running around in a local playground and also on Monday, Kingston police dealt with a large black snake that decided to try to enter Dallas Hot Weiners.