Bear not welcome in Northern Indiana city

A black bear that wandered into Northern Indiana seems to like the area and is sticking around.

But, since the bear is showing up in populated areas and making itself at home in Michigan City, Wildlife biologists with the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife plan to trap and relocate the black bear.

They set a trap Wednesday evening at a confidential location near where the bear had been sighted.

On the night of July 14, Indiana Conservation Officers responded to multiple bear sightings in the Motts Park area of the city. Several residents reported seeing a bear rifling through trash and bird feeders near their homes. The bear also was reported walking on porches and standing against patio doors.

According to biologists, because the bear has become used to the suburban area — visiting the same sites repeatedly — there have been numerous negative interactions with residents. This potentially compromises the safety of the residents and the bear.

DNR biologists are working with the Michigan DNR to relocate the bear to rural Michigan, which unlike Indiana, has a sizable, established bear population.

Black bears are shy by nature and tend to avoid human contact. Attacks are rare. Black bears are non-aggressive in most instances and prefer fleeing from humans when given the chance.

The bear, a young male, appears to have first entered Indiana in St. Joseph County the week of June 12. A scat pile it left in a resident’s driveway just north of South Bend was the evidence DNR needed to confirm the presence of a wild bear in Indiana for the first time since 1871.