TISKILWA, Ill. (AP) — Officially, there are no Bears loose in Illinois aside from the ones who wear helmets and shoulder pads eight Sundays a year at Soldier Field.

Unofficially, Bureau County Deputy Sheriff Sherry Barto believes she saw two of the wild, fur-covered variety Saturday morning in a field near Tiskilwa, about 50 miles north of Peoria.

Illinois Conservation Police Officer Sgt. Robert Frazier hears all kinds of reports about wild animals being spotted in the area that aren’t supposed to be there. He generally writes them off.

But Frazier isn’t dismissing the report of the mother and cub. He helped catch a black bear in the same area last year.

Frazier warns that a mother bear could be aggressive to protect her cub.