Bear in The Cities

For the second time in six months, a wild black bear was found wandering around deep in the urban zone in Saint Paul. I'm not sure what happened to the last one, but this one was killed by Saint Paul police under advisement of the Department of Natural Resources. To give you an idea of the location, here's a view of the cities with the bear marked:

i-b881775c46d714da95623722bee917e3-LocationOFWildBlackBearInSaintPaul-thumb-500x569-74074.jpg

This image represent an area that is approximately five miles across.

There are a lot of bears in Minnesota, but it is a little surprising to see one get this far into the city. It could have come down train tracks and/or via any of several lines of lakes and parks that grace the region, which in turn are a function of there being ancient river channels that are now filled with drift and kettle lakes. There is also plenty of parkland along the riverside.

Details here.

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I have pointed to the fact that mtDNA genetics has suggested that the polar bear is actually a derived lineage of brown bears.
This is from Seabeck, Washington, across the water from Seattle.
I read an interesting article in the Alaska Dispatch News which examined interactions between arctic grizzly bears and polar bears. They found that although polar bears are larger, they tend to leave food sources when grizzly bears are around.
From here: "Cronin et al.

Dude, we end up with bears in freaking west Phoenix every few years. Have a look at a map for the nearest bear habitat, and you'll never again think there's anything strange about one being in an area where bear habitat is less than a day's walk away.

By D. C. Sessions (not verified) on 29 Apr 2012 #permalink