"I thought, 'That dog looks like a bear,' " he said. "I looked at it again and realized, oh, it is a bear."

The 65-pound black bear stopped to look at Mr. Angle, who was setting up his sprinkler on Winters Road in the Idlewilde community at just after 7 a.m.

"It paused for a moment, walked a little more, and looked back at me," he said. "If I had been smart I would have gotten my camera. I wasn't too smart. I hadn't had my coffee yet."

Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials believe this is the same young bear that has been spotted in St. Mary's and Calvert counties in the past two weeks or so.

The bear, estimated to be about a year old, was spotted in Wayson's Corner yesterday morning, and then in Edgewater that afternoon, said Paul Peditto, director of Wildlife and Heritage Services at the Department of Natural Resources.

"We suspect he got near the Route 50 corridor and figured this is the wrong way," he said. "So he turned back and headed south" to Shady Side.

Mr. Peditto said the bear is attempting to find his own territory that isn't already occupied by other bears. He likely continued down the river corridor from Virginia or western Maryland and "extended his road trip a little too far," he said.

"This bear has been bouncing around because its objective now is to find a river corridor and a stretch of undeveloped habitat," Mr. Peditto said. "It may appear disoriented or even frightened but it's highly unlikely it will become aggressive."

He said black bears are typically not aggressive animals unless provoked.

Residents who see the black bear are encouraged to leave it alone.

"Think of this as an oversized raccoon and not as a man-eater," Mr. Peditto said. "Feel good that we live in a place that still has enough open space to attract an animal like a bear."

He advises residents take proactive measures to prevent attracting the bear to their homes.

Bring trash cans into the garage, he said. And make sure barbecue grills are cleaned after use. Don't leave dog food on the porch or any food in the garbage can.

"These animals are pretty opportunistic," Mr. Peditto said.

Mr. Angle said a neighbor of his called county police this morning after spotting the bear eating apples out of his tree.

It appeared to be "very relaxed" when Mr. Angle saw him today.

"He just paced along," he said. "His attitude was well, I'm just going to have a nice day on the bay. It was just trying to have a great day outside like the rest of us."

While it is rare for Anne Arundel residents to spot a bear near their home, Mr. Peditto said it's not that unusual in other parts of the state.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources received a dozen calls for black bear sightings in Montgomery County last year.

"In all of those prior instances, we encouraged the residents to leave the bear alone and it'll leave them alone," Mr. Peditto said. "What happens is the bear will move off to undeveloped habitat and become part of the wild ecosystem.

" ... He has a little ways to go, but bears can travel a long way in a short period of time. Unless humans give them a reason to hang around."