BARNSTABLE (CBS) – How could a bear get onto the Cape? That’s the question Barnstable residents are discussing now, since they’ve spotted the first bear ever reported on Cape Cod.

Police say it probably swam across the Cape Cod Canal. “They’re very strong swimmers,” says Sgt. Stephen McGuire. He and other officers spent the evening talking with neighbors who spotted the male black bear in West Barnstable.

“He looked just like a teddy bear,” says Sookie Driscoll who encountered the bear in her back yard. “He turned around and sauntered off into the woods.”

On the other side of those woods, it was spotted in Ken Ellis’ driveway hours earlier. “The bear was in no hurry. He wasn’t agitated in any way. He was calm,” says Ellis.

Police sent out reverse 911 phone messages to residents. They’re telling people to bring in bird feeders and cover up trash.