The bear
re-entered a wooded area near Michigan City, Indiana, on Monday after
spending time in adjacent Michigan, said Budd Veverka, a farmland game
research biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Since its return,
there haven't been any additional reports about its possible whereabouts,
but DNR Fish and Wildlife staff are keeping watch for the furry
interloper, Veverka said Thursday.
Michigan has an
estimated black bear population of between 15,000 and 20,000 animals, but
when the bear wandered south into northern Indiana in early June it became
Indiana's first confirmed wild back bear presence since 1871.
Wildlife
officials launched an effort to capture the young male in mid-July after
it began making forays onto residential property near Michigan City, about
60 miles east of Chicago. The bear overturned trash cans and bird feeders
while searching for food, climbed onto patios and porches, and even
pounded on the doors of several homes.
The DNR has said
the bear needs to be removed from Indiana to protect both it and humans
from possible injury in an encounter.
Veverka said the
trapping efforts are continuing in wooded areas near Michigan City where
DNR staff have set up two barrel traps with doors that close when the bait
inside is seized by animals. Those traps, as well as a separate bait
station, are all baited with the bear delicacies of sardines, bacon,
liquid smoke, honey and marshmallows.
"We have the
honey and there's also some bird seed in there as well. The reason we use
liquid smoke, marshallows, bacon and those others is because all of them
have strong scents," he said. "We hope to draw him in and we're hoping if
he's passing by he won't be able to pass that up."
If the bear isn't
captured in one of the traps, the DNR can't drive it back into Michigan or
it doesn't return home on its own, officials might sedate the bear using a
gun that fires tranquilizer darts and turn him over to their Michigan
counterparts. They would likely relocate the bear to Michigan's northern
counties.
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