HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. -- A small bear stopped traffic and caused school lockdowns after roaming a Highlands Ranch neighborhood on Wednesday.

Colorado Division of Wildlife officials said the cinnamon-colored black bear, was probably a yearling searching for new territory after leaving its mother and did not appear to be aggressive.

“It was kind of wandering around, looking like it was lost and just poking around, looking around the area,” said Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill.

Neighbors said at one point, the bear wandered into a street, nearly causing an accident.

“The bear sprinted across the road and we skidded on the brakes and it dodged the car and then it ran up the road,” said Mitch Rubner.

The bear finally wandered into a dense gully along Colorado Boulevard where wildlife officials said it probably slept for several hours.

Neighbors who had been warned by an automated phone call to stay indoors with their children and pets spilled out onto a path lining the gully, hoping to catch a glimpse of the animal. Some stopped their cars along busy Colorado Boulevard to bear-gaze.

“It’s excitement. It’s fun!” said one resident, Lila Scott, who admitted that it would probably be best to heed warnings to stay inside.

Another neighbor, Carolyn Penrose said she was a little worried about the safety of her children, but came to the scene to satisfy her curiosity.

“That’s something I never thought I’d see down here is a bear,” she said.

Churchill said the crowds might actually work in favor of wildlife officials because the noise would likely encourage the bear to stay in the gully and avoid human contact.

“Usually they don’t want to stay around where it’s this populated and noisy,” she said. Churchill said wildlife officials would track the bear overnight, in hopes that it would find its way out of the gully on its own once the sun set. She said if the bear remained in the gully by morning, officials would have to consider tranquilizing and removing it.