Wildlife officials said bear sightings in the Edmonton area are not unusual after a woman reported seeing a black bear (similar to the one pictured here) near the Whitemud Equine Centre Wednesday evening. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Wildlife officers and Edmonton park rangers were combing a wooded area in the city Thursday after a woman reported seeing a black bear near the Whitemud Equine Centre.

Officers said they found evidence of the bear in the river valley area. The woman reported the sighting Wednesday evening.

Paul Prefontaine, one of two officers surveying the area, said bear sightings are not unusual, adding several have been reported in Edmonton and the surrounding area this season.

"It's a general corridor path that they can walk through," he told CBC News. "They're just like anything else — if there's lots of berry crops they're probably going to make their way through here and then eventually move out, with the amount of people that are around."

Prefontaine said anyone encountering a black bear should slowly back away. And if that doesn't work, making yourself large, and yelling at the animal should scare it off.

With files from the CBC's Andrea Huncar