More bear sightings in metro-east. This one may have made its way to St. Clair County
A black bear was spotted in Columbia on Sunday, according to the Columbia Police Department.
The department said it was last seen going toward Columbia Bridges Golf Course, just north of the town. The golf course intersects the border of Monroe County and St. Clair County.
Nate Albrecht, who works at Columbia Bridges, said golfers have not reported seeing the bear.
“Everyone’s on the lookout,” Albrecht said. “But there haven’t been any signs of it.”
A resident of Monroe County, Daniel Ling, took a video of the bear eating apples in his backyard.
The Dupo Village Police Department said it had not seen the black bear within its jurisdiction, but said a sighting was reported on Cement Hollow Road in St. Clair County. A dispatcher for the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department said Monday morning that they had not received any reports of a sighting.
It is unknown if this bear is the same bear seen in the last few weeks.
The last reported location of a black bear sighting was in Brewer, Missouri. A Kentucky bear expert said he believes that bear is the same that was spotted in western Kentucky in early July, which then made its way across southern Illinois over the following weeks.
Pope County is one of four Illinois counties in which there were confirmed black bear sightings, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Multiple bear sightings were later reported as the bear continued moving west, including Carrier Mills in Saline County on July 11, the Marion area in Williamson County on July 18-19, and in the Carbondale area in Jackson County on July 21-22.
John Hast, the bear and elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said it’s likely that the black bear seen in Missouri swam across the Mississippi River, just like it swam across the Ohio River to enter Illinois.
The bear apparently is a young male that has been booted out of its Kentucky home by its mother, Hast said. Summertime is when black bears are seen cruising the countryside away from established bear populations. Both Kentucky and Missouri have had growing bear populations in recent years.
Black bears are protected animals in Illinois, according to Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich, meaning they cannot be hunted or harassed in any way. He also said black bears are usually more afraid of humans than we are of them.
If a bear has been reported in your area, the Department of Natural Resources offered the following tips:
Never feed or approach bears.
Secure food, garbage, and recycling.
Remove or limit use of bird feeders when bears are active.
Avoid leaving pet food outdoors.
Thoroughly clean and store grills and smokers after each use.
Alert neighbors to bear activity.
