Update: Information provided by the Lake Mills Police Department has been added to this story.
The Jefferson County Scanner Facebook page Friday reported a sighting of a black bear in Lake Mills.
According to the report, the bear was sighted near the “area of Stony Road and Topeka Drive,” on the community’s northeast side.
The scanner author posted that the police department had confirmed around 8:15 p.m. that the bear was near a trailer park on E. Lake Street.
The area was further described as “near the treatment plant.”
Police were contacting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), according to the scanner author, to see if “DNR is available.”
The Lake Mills Police Department reported on its Facebook page on Friday that it had received information about a black bear at approximately 8:15 that evening.
The Facebook post noted that the bear was “in the area of Stoney Road near the yard waste disposal site.
“Officers attempted to use noise devices to remove the bear from the neighborhood. This was not successful. The black bear was last seen entering a wooded area between Stoney Road and E. Lake Street.”
The department reminded residents “to be mindful of their surroundings while in that area. Please do not approach the bear or attempt to feed it in any way. Do not call 911 if you spot the bear unless you are in immediate danger.”
According to the DNR’s website, Wisconsin’s black bear population is “thriving,” with the state having an estimated 24,000 bears which primarily range in “the far northern third of the state.”
The bear population is managed primarily through hunting, using a “strict quota/permit issuance system designed to ensure the long-term future of the population,” the website states.
Due to a growing bear population, bears are becoming much more common in the lower two-thirds of the state than ever before, the website notes.
According to the website: “In 2019 wildlife biologists in Wisconsin began conducting a new research technique for estimating the bear population, which helps develop guidelines that will ensure a prosperous future for the species. This research was highly dependent on the hard work of not just department biologists, but also federal and tribal partners, who during spring and early summer, placed over 800 hair snares across the Wisconsin bear range. Each hair snare consisted of a liquid bait surrounded by a single strand of barbed wire. Biologists visited each site weekly to collect samples of bear hair from the barbed wire, and samples were then sent to a laboratory so that the DNA could be isolated and individual bears could be identified.”
The website additionally provides a map showing black bear population status and distribution within the state.
The website notes that “Wisconsin’s occupied bear range is expanding, which means residents can expect to see black bears in areas outside of the bear’s traditional range.
“An abundant population and suitable bear habitat have facilitated the southerly movement of occupied bear range in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s black bear population is considerably higher than it was 30 years ago,” information provided on the website continued.
The website offered statistics, stating that the bear population in 1989 was estimated at 9,000.
Further, the website reads; “Wisconsin is not alone in its expanding bear range. The results from a 2008 survey of eastern United States and Canadian Provinces that actively manage black bear populations indicated that 75% of these jurisdictions report an increase in bear range. Only Vermont reported a contracting bear range.”
In June of 2023, Fort Atkinson Online reported that at least two individuals posted photos and videos on Facebook, each documenting a sighting of a black bear in Jefferson County, with one sighting reportedly near Hebron.
Also last June, a black bear was reportedly sighted, according to reports on the Walworth County Scanner Updates Facebook page, near Whitewater and Elkhorn.
In 2022, the DNR noted in a news release, that while bear sightings in southern Wisconsin remain rare, sightings in Waukesha and Washington counties served as a reminder that bears can be found in any county.
Information released last year by the DNR noted that sightings usually increase in early summer when young bears strike out on their own for the first time. Bear breeding season also occurs in early summer resulting in many male bears wandering around in search of a mate.
If a bear is near your home or cabin, the DNR advised the following:
• From a safe location, wave your arms and make noise to scare it away.
• Back away slowly and seek a safe location where you can wait for the bear to leave.
• When scaring a bear away, make sure it has a clear escape route; never corner a bear.
• If you encounter a bear while in the woods, DO NOT RUN, stay calm and do not approach the bear.
• Never approach any bear.
• For your safety, do not attempt to break up a fight between your pet and a bear.
Additionally, the DNR advised taking the following step to avoid attracting bears:
• Do not knowingly feed a bear.
• Completely remove bird feeders, even during daytime hours – Bears are active during the day and may cause problems even if the feeders are out only during that time.
• Clean areas where bird feeders were located so that accumulated deposits of spilled seed are removed.
• Reduce garbage odors by rinsing food cans before putting them in covered recycling containers or garbage cans.
• Keep meat scraps in the freezer until garbage day, and if possible, keep garbage cans in a closed building until the morning of pickup.
• Be sure to lock commercial dumpsters.
• Keep pet food inside or inaccessible to bears even during daytime hours.
• Keep grills and picnic tables clean.
The DNR website additionally offers “wildlife services” phone numbers to report issues with bears in southern Wisconsin. The numbers are: 800-433-0663 or 920-324-4514.
More information about black bears in Wisconsin, as provided by the DNR, is here: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/bearmanagement#:~:text=Wisconsin%20is%20home%20to%20a,northern%20third%20of%20the%20state.
A black bear population density map, as provided on the DNR’s website is here: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/bearpop.
An earlier story about black bear sightings in the Fort Atkinson Online readership area and in Wisconsin, including helpful tips for homeowners, is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/black-bears-in-wisconsin-heres-what-you-should-know/.
This story has been updated.
A black bear, file photo/Wisconsin DNR.
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