# there is a bear in lansing



## noheadlikesteelhead (Nov 25, 2002)

the state journal article said YES, seems it was in the east towne mall lot. and across the road at the landfill.


----------



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Black bear spotted by Eastwood mall
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050620/NEWS01/506200341/1001/news

ALSO:

3 more bear sightings in Lansing area
DNR specialist says reports are first he's heard in 30 years

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050621/NEWS01/506210323/1001/news

By Kevin Grasha , Lansing State Journal
Mike Ellis was standing in his driveway just before 6 a.m. Monday when he saw what appeared to be a large black dog ambling down Eddie Drive.

"I had to do a double take because I thought, 'God, that's a big dog,' " the 34-year-old Delta Township resident said.

But Ellis, who hunts and fishes in Lake County (in the northwest Lower Peninsula), soon realized what he was seeing - a black bear.

Ellis' sighting, northeast of Saginaw Highway and Creyts Road, was one of several reported to area police and sheriff's departments Sunday and Monday morning.

David Bostick, bear specialist with the state Department of Natural Resources, said the sightings were the first he had heard so close to Lansing in at least 30 years.

On Sunday afternoon, a bear was seen in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart, just west of Eastwood Towne Center.

Early Monday, the Eaton County Sheriff's Delta Township patrol received three calls including Ellis', Lt. Jeff Warder said.

Authorities were unable to find a bear, however.

Most of the recent sightings have been in north central or northeast Lansing, said Bostick, who is heading the search for the bear - or bears.

Because there have been conflicting reports, Bostick hadn't ruled out the possibility Monday night that there is a bear family with cubs roaming the area.

A mother bear may have kicked her cubs loose, he said.

"It's kind of like six people describing a bank robber. You get six different descriptions," he said. "That's kind of what we're dealing with."

DNR conservation officers and several local police agencies are involved in the search.

Bostick said black bears are gradually increasing their range and are moving farther south as bear populations increase up north.

Once the bear family is located, the DNR and local authorities will simply track them and ensure they head back north.

"We're really hoping they get the idea on their own and all we'll have to do is shadow them to make sure they're going in the right direction - which of course is out of town," he said.

If they need to, Bostick said conservation officers would use flashing lights, sirens or blanks fired from shotguns to encourage the bears to go north.

Ellis said he has seen bears in Lake County where he goes hunting and fishing.

But Monday morning's appearance likely was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"It's the first time I've seen a bear anywhere south of U.S. 10," he said. "Except at the zoo, of course."

Contact Kevin Grasha at 267-1347 or [email protected].

If you see a bear

David Bostick, bear specialist for the state Department of Natural Resources, said if you see a black bear:

 Do not approach it.

 Don't turn and run; face the bear and back away.

 Report the sighting to the state Department of Natural Resources.

He cautioned:

 Black bears are not usually aggressive, although mothers with cubs can be.

 Secure all garbage, and do not leave out pet food at night.

 "We're asking folks to exercise a little caution, but not to the point of being paranoid. It's not like there's a 1,000-pound grizzly bear on the loose."


----------



## upstraightshot (Jan 18, 2004)

probably just a house cat :lol: (kidding) :lol:


----------



## Rondevous (Mar 14, 2005)

I keep wondering how long it will be before I see a bear along the Black river north of Port Huron.
You just never know do ya?


----------



## Pinefarm (Sep 19, 2000)

http://www.freep.com/news/mich/critter23e_20050623.htm

Michiganders cry: Possums and foxes and bears, oh my! 

June 23, 2005

BY LAURA POTTS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Maybe they just have wanderlust.

But with reports of burly black bears around Lansing, a peckish fox biting a Shelby Township woman and a wayward possum hissing at people outside downtown Detroit's dueling coney islands, wildlife-wary folks began to wonder: What's with these confused creatures?

Animal experts say there is a simple explanation: coincidence.

"A lot of folks, quite honestly, were a little panicked," said Dave Bostick, a bear specialist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "People should treat wild animals with respect, but they don't want to go overboard being fearful."

The Lansing area has been atwitter over three days of bear sightings, which started around 3 p.m. Sunday when several shoppers spotted a rambling black bear in the parking lot of a superstore on busy Lake Lansing Road.

Bostick theorized the multiple sightings -- at least 20 considered credible by the DNR -- have been of a mother bear and two 2-year-old cubs. With breeding season approaching, she may have been trying to ditch the youngsters, he speculated.

"She was trying to lose them and they didn't want to get lost," Bostick said.

The bear sightings have garnered a lot of attention because the ample and sometimes unruly creatures rarely turn up so far south.

But reports of the unusually ferocious fox are unnerving some Shelby Township residents, and the possum with a penchant for chili dogs menaced passersby Wednesday near the intersection of Lafayette and Michigan.

"If it gets scared enough, it's going to jump out and bite somebody," said Rebecca Womack, a Lincoln Park woman who called Detroit police and several other agencies from outside Lafayette Coney Island to have the cat-sized possum removed.

In fact, Bostick and other experts said most wildlife is more likely to scurry off than attack.

They say the feral fox -- which reportedly harassed others in Shelby Township -- might be sick and normally wouldn't approach humans. Residents in that area have been advised to call police if they see a fox acting oddly, but Shelby Township Sgt. Brad Ferguson said, "We don't have a dragnet going on right now" to catch the creature.

Meanwhile, the southerly bears continue to stump people around Lansing, who are more accustomed to tailgate party-loving raccoons, scampering rabbits and other animals that make mid-Michigan home.

"Where did the damn thing come from? Did he take the bus?" asked Grand Ledge resident Sue Nichols, who heard about the sightings.

Michigan State University wildlife education specialist James Harding said for "many decades there haven't been wild bears in this area," though in recent years they've been seen some 20 miles north of Lansing. He said the bears may have itchy feet or might have accidentally stumbled upon something too good to leave.

"I'm sure a bear foraging in the Dumpsters behind the restaurants could make out quite a living," Harding said.

And while he reminded people that any wild animal can be dangerous (he was once nipped by a chickadee, "the very symbol of pathetic harmlessness, and it brought tears to my eyes"), Harding said to use common sense.

"If a bear was getting into my garbage cans, I wouldn't go out and whack it with a broom," he said. "But at the same time, people don't have to lock their doors on a bright summer day and stay inside."

Contact LAURA POTTS at 248-351-3292 or [email protected].


----------



## Adam Waszak (Apr 12, 2004)

That is about 1/2 mile from my parents house. I wish I could see him before he vacates the area. Those bear permits were just awarded recently and I think this is an educated bear he knows there is no Lansing BMU :lol: He will get fat off the dumpsters and trash people leave around and then after the season is over he will head north for the winters nap :lol: 

AW


----------

