Apple trees attract bears! This bear was spotted within the city limits of Grand Marais last week.
In recent weeks there have been numerous law enforcement reports of bears entering yards throughout Cook County—pulling down bird feeders and disturbing compost piles. There seems to have been an increased number of bears within the city limits of Grand Marais this year, including a mother bear and her cub that have taken up residence in the wooded lot below Bethlehem Lutheran Church, gorging themselves on apples from the trees at 403 West 4th Street.
Cook County Law Enforcement received a call on Saturday, September 4 at 8:06 a.m., reporting the mother and cub next to 403 4th Street. A deputy drove around the block and informed the law enforcement dispatcher that the bears were gone. The resident, Kathy Peterson, called back and said that the bears were still there—the cub up a leafy birch tree and the mother bear hidden in the brush below. Deputies returned and monitored the area while Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officer Darin Fagerman was notified.
Fagerman said the best thing to do was to leave the bears alone. He said options for dealing with bears within the city limits are to leave them alone—or to shoot them. The DNR rarely traps and relocates bears because they seldom remain where they are released—or they become a nuisance somewhere else.
The DNR brochure Bear
Country: Learning to Live with
Bears
notes that many bears are killed or injured when not causing any problems. The brochure offers the following suggestions for when a bear comes into your yard: Don’t panic and don’t approach it. Most bears fear people and will leave when they see you. If a bear woofs, snaps its jaws, slaps the ground or brush, or bluff charges, you are too close! The best thing to do is back away slowly or remain inside and wait for the bear to leave. Always allow the bear an escape route. If a bear is treed, leave it alone. The bear will usually go away when it feels safe.
People should be aware there is a mother bear and cub in the area and avoid the frequently traversed alleyway between 1st and 2nd Avenue West, at least until the apple trees attracting the bears are done bearing fruit.
Anyone with questions or concerns about bears may call their area Conservation Officer: in Grand Marais, reach CO Darin Fagerman at 387-9751; in Hovland, CO Mary Manning at 475-0121; and Tofte, CO Tom Wahlstrom at 663-7183.
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