Black bears are expanding their range east across Massachusetts and into the Southcoast region, and one was spotted last week in Westport.

Animal Control Officer Nicholas Vidmar reported Thursday that a bear was spotted a day earlier — in the morning, a call came in from Old Bedford Road, and that evening it, or another bear, was reported near the Oriental Pearl on Route Six.

“He was looking for snacks (and) is not causing a disturbance,” Vidmar reported. Though he said the animal is just passing through, Westport Animal Control “urges people not to approach or seek the bear out.”

If and only if the bear becomes an issue, he reported, steps will be taken “to help the bear find a way out of Westport.”  But for now, Vidmar cautioned, just leave it alone.

It’s been a busy year for bear sightings in the Southcoast region, and prior to last week’s visit a bear was also spotted a few months ago in Fall River.

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, which partners in a bear tracker program to monitor their movement through the state, estimates that Massachusetts has a population of 4,500 black bears.

"Though Massachusetts is the third most densely-populated state in the country, black bears have been increasing in numbers and distribution since the 1970s,” the state reports. In recent years, they have been reported in Fall River, now Westport, Marion, Wareham, Rehoboth and Middleboro. The state believes that sightings will increase as the animals move into these more densely populated areas, and estimates that the species’ population expands by about eight percent yearly.