It wasn’t that many years ago when it was considered a rarity for a black bear to be sighted in Sherburne County. But in recent years, it has become much more commonplace as the creature expands its territory to the south and west of its historical range.

Gary and Ann Gilbert live just east of Co. Rd. 11 in Becker Township and, last Thursday, they had a black bear who seemed to be trying to escape the hot temperatures by hanging out in the shade right by their house.

Gary was able to take some videos and pictures of the bear, as it was just feet from the Gilberts’ house, lounging in the landscaping.

“He was here in the morning and then left and he came back in the evening again and that was it... we never saw him the next day,” Gary said. “Over the years, it seems like maybe every few years or so a bear shows up.”

In recent weeks, the Sheriffs of both Benton and Chisago Counties have issued social media posts regarding the issue.

In Sherburne County, SCSO Deputies dealt with a bear in Zimmerman on June 7th that came into a residential area and climbed a tree. Because people were there to take pictures, a deputy was dispatched to do crowd control. Eventually, the bear left without incident.

Sheriff Joel Brott says that people do report seeing bears in the county on occasion.

“We encounter bears in residential areas from time to time,” Brott says. “The bears typically are looking for food. So we encourage residents to keep garbage containers in their garages.”

Brott also says that it is best to leave the bears alone and let them saunter off on their own.

“As tempting as it can be to try to get a picture of a bear wandering through a neighborhood, we ask that people stay away when a bear sighting is reported,” Brott says. “They are more likely to go on their way without harming anyone if people just leave them alone.”

The Minnesota DNR is currently performing a study to better understand the bear’s changing and expanding habitat. The agency has created a webpage that contains bear sightings outside of their normal, documented range. 

“Minnesota’s black bear range has been slowly expanding southward and westward,” says the website. “We are trying to better document this expansion and need your help.”

Citizens can both check up the locations of other reported sightings and enter their own information if they see a bear. The map updates automatically and shows the number of bears and cubs and the date of the encounter.

Readers interested in checking out the map or reporting their own bear sighting can go to: www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/bear/bear-sightings.html.