http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/notoroious-wandering-black-bear-continues-to-feast-in-michigan-city/33797760
Spotted again the other day.
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/Officers-chase-bear-from-Michigan-City-neighborhood/34176824
DNR officials urges if you encounter the Bear run straight to the end zone. Bears rarely ever go there.
Thats why you should always save your 4th of July fireworks leftovers. You just never know when and where they might come in handy. Matter of fact...they saved my life once, when one of these critters snuck up on me while camping in Canada. Incidentally, black bears don't necessarily have to be...'black'
He's back...
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/wandering-black-bear-returns-to-indiana-after-michigan-visit/34442696
Wonder if he had a chance to gorge himself in the local area blueberry farms yet.
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Black bear that visited Indiana this summer returns to state
A black bear that roamed into Indiana from southwestern Michigan this summer and eventually returned home is back in the Hoosier state, raiding bird feeders and trash cans as it fattens up for winter hibernation, a wildlife biologist said Friday.
The juvenile male reached Indiana's Michigan City area, just south of the Indiana-Michigan state line, early Thursday but may have slipped into Indiana the day before, said Budd Veverka, a farmland game research biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
When the bear crossed into Indiana in early June it became the state's first confirmed wild black bear sighting in 144 years. Hunting and habitat loss had eradicated the species in the 1800s.
Veverka said the bear was last seen in the Michigan City area in late July and is believed to have spent most of the past two months just north of the state line, feeding on native nuts, berries and insects that are becoming increasingly scarce.
Now that he's back in Indiana he's been raiding residents' bird feeders and trash cans.
"A bear's life is ruled by food. And now he's trying to build weight, to build fat for winter. He's trying to get food wherever he can," Veverka said.
Pete Livas of Panos Farms, a Michigan City honey and herb farm about 4 miles south of the Indiana-Michigan state line, said the bear visited the farm early Thursday, upended a trash can and feasted on peanut butter and old honey in discarded jars.
He found the bear's footprints in the area where the farm's beehives are kept, but those hives are now in winter storage. During the summer, however, the bear broke into some hives and devoured close to 10 pounds of honey, Livas said.
The bear has now visited the farm four times since June, but Livas said it hasn't been too much of a problem. In fact, he and his wife find the elusive animal an amusing and interesting visitor.
"We think it's kind of cool that's he still around," he said.
Veverka said the bear could possibly hibernate in the Michigan City area if it finds a suitable den such as a hollow tree. Black bears usually hibernate between late November and late December.
"At this point, I'd say it's unlikely that he moves real far back north," he said.
Associated Press
Michigan City bear killed after trying to enter homes
Joseph S. Pete joseph
The black bear that wandered to Northwest Indiana last year was killed in Michigan after attempting to break into two homes in Stevensville in the Harbor County area, about 30 miles from the state line.
The 2- to 3-year-old male bear, which was repeatedly spotted around Michigan City last year, came out of hibernation three or four weeks ago and has been spotted almost daily in Southwest Michigan, said Mark Sargent, the Southwest Wildlife field operations manager.
Last week, it reared onto its hind legs and tried to push open a screen door, terrifying the homeowner and renewing an effort to catch it.
"It had become too familiar with people," Sargent said.
"When they're not scared of people, it raises it to a higher level of threat. We followed our guidelines and made the decision to euthanize it."
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources caught the bear — the first seen in Indiana in 144 years — with the same trap it escaped from last year, when the trap was on loan to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The bear rummaged through garbage cans, knocked over bee hives and approached back porches during its visit to Indiana.
Michigan authorities reset the trap and used sweets like honey, doughnuts, bacon and sardines to lure in the bear.
After it was caught Saturday, they tranquilized the bear, shot it with a handgun and sent it to the disease laboratory in Lansing, Michigan, to get checked out.
About once a year, bears wander into southern Michigan, but they rarely get put down, Sargent said.
"They normally do a lookabout and turn around, but this one went further south and got habituated to people," he said. "When the young males get thrown out of a pack they go to try to find their own territories. Some of them are great wanderers."
Sargent said it was regrettable the bear had to be killed, but that it posed an increasing threat to people, the more it got used to being around them.
"It's unfortunate, but it left us with very little wiggle room," he said.
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