SUDBURY -- A Sudbury resident was getting ready to take her dog on a walk in the area of the Cedar Green Golf Club near Garson, when she saw four bears in the distance.

"We pulled up and we seen that there a Mom and her three cubs and it was just before the tree line and i guess we scared it and it took off into the tree line. It was the biggest mama bear ever," said Candace Wiseman, spotted bears on walk. 

The City of Greater Sudbury is asking people who see a bear to report it online. 

"We have a report a bear program where people can call in and register or inform us of where the bear sightings are. They then get plotted to a map and people can go to that map and look and see where they are a bit high concentrations of sightings," said Al Sizer, Sudbury City Councillor. 

Officials with Sudbury's bear nuisance committee say in 2019 there were more than 200 sightings recorded and 51 per cent of those reported were in May and June. 

"In 2019 there were 244 reports of bear sightings on one report a bear map and that is a decrease from 2018, a great decrease from 2015 where we had our highest number of reports. We were around 2,500 in 2015," said Sizer.

Sizer says even though numbers decrease each year, people need to continue to reduce the chance of attracting bears. 

"We want to ensure that garbage is stored in waste containers with tight fitting lids, putting the garbage and recycling out only on the morning of. A lot of people have to put it out the night before but it's highly recommend to be put out the morning of our waste pick up, and the other is the food[…] if you're feeding your pet outside please bring that pet food inside," said Sizer.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says if you do come across a bear while on a walk, you should slowly back away from the animal and recommends not running away.