IDNR: Leave the bear alone
Black bear roams western Illinois south of Quad Cities; officials warn of ‘adverse outcome’ from confrontation
An American black bear strolls Yellowstone National Park. A slightly smaller bear has recently been seen roaming western Illinois. (Wikimedia Commons/DaBler)
By Ted Cox
Leave the bear alone.
That’s the instruction from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as it’s been monitoring the progress of a lone black bear roaming the western part of the state south of the Quad Cities.
The department put out a news release Tuesday asking local residents to “leave the black bear currently passing through western Illinois alone.”
Department biologists and Conservation Police officers have been tracking the bear almost two weeks, since it crossed over from Wisconsin into northwestern Illinois. According to the department, it proceeded into Iowa, but then crossed back over the Mississippi River into southern Rock Island County last Thursday.
WTTW-TV’s Patty Wetli in Chicago reported last week that “black bears haven’t made a home in Illinois since the 1880s, but there’s a sizable, and growing, 29,000-strong population in Wisconsin, likely the origin point of the ursine wanderer.”
Things came to a head last weekend, however, as the department reported that the “bear has traveled through northwestern Illinois mostly unbothered until it passed through northwest Henderson County Father’s Day weekend, where more than 300 people gathered to view, follow, and harass the bear. It was last seen June 21 headed south toward Stronghurst in southern Henderson County.”
Henderson County sits along the Mississippi River south of the Quad Cities and just west of Galesburg.
“For the most part, we’ve not seen conflicts between the public and bear until recently and, unfortunately, those conflicts were caused entirely by people,” said Stefanie Fitzsimons, district wildlife biologist with the department. “It’s a novelty to see a bear in Illinois, and people want to see it for themselves, but they must remember that the outcome for this bear — whether IDNR must step in and take action to protect public safety — is completely dependent on how the public react to it. If the bear is left alone, it can continue its journey safely on its own.”
According to the department, Fitzsimons believes “the bear is likely just passing through the state looking for a mate and won’t stay long because Illinois doesn’t provide appropriate habitat for an animal that big. The most important thing to remember if people spot the bear is that it’s a wild animal and should be treated as such. In fact, Fitzsimons added, people should stay at least 100 yards away from the bear and enjoy watching it from a distance.”
According to the Be Bear Aware Campaign, the American black bear is the smallest of the North American bears and the most widely distributed, with a population estimated at 600,000. “Black bears tend to be the most timid of the North American bears due to their smaller stature,” the campaign states, “but they are still a strong and bold opponent. Though known to attack when provoked, for the most part, however, black bears generally give humans a wide berth.”
Males are larger than females and average about 400 pounds, with females weighing in at about 175. But they’ve been seen as large as 875 pounds, and they can run 25 miles an hour.
Two hunters in a tree stand were recently visited by a black bear abruptly in a video shared on social media.
But state officials warn that things can quickly come to a head if a bear is confronted, and they stated that the bear’s ultimate safety was entirely in the hands of local residents giving it a wide berth. The department emphasized that black bears “are now protected by the Illinois Wildlife Code and may not be hunted, killed, or harassed unless there is an imminent threat to person or property.”
“Certainly, the more pressure is put on the bear, the more likely we’ll see an adverse outcome,” said Capt. Laura Petreikis of the Illinois Conservation Police. “As is always the case, we want to ensure the safety of both people and animals. If we continue to see situations like we saw this past weekend, Conservation Police will issue tickets and make arrests to ensure the safety of both the public and the bear.”
Illinoisans who spot the bear are urged to leave it alone and to report it to local police or the Illinois Conservation Police, as state officials continue to try to monitor its progress.
WGEM-TV reported that the bear was seen Thursday outside Blandinsville, northwest of Macomb.
Others can content themselves with a video of the bear the Illinois Department of Natural Resources shared on its Facebook page.