Michigan has a pretty decent black bear population. The DNR estimates the population to be around 15,000-19,000, with approximately 90% of those bears living in the Upper Peninsula. While I do agree with that statement, I think our state is starting to see a definite change in the areas where black bears live.

About 5 years back we started to notice bear tracks on the banks of the Pere Marquette river near Baldwin, Michigan. It honestly didn’t surprise me at the time, but it definitely was evidence that these animals were starting to move south. Michigan does have a black bear season, but the population still tends to be steady, and the evidence of that is the fact that these bears are starting to move to the southern part of the state.

A couple years back the DNR had to issue a statement because of the amount of black bear sightings that were being reporting in the Lansing area. People were witnessing a sow and cub, moving along the edge of a Wal-mart parking lot, and started calling authorities to report the “escaped” bears. Of course the DNR knew better and issued statements about the known population of black bears in that area of the city. They also shared the knowledge of a bear den in the area.

In January of this month, my father-in-law’s neighbor made a point to come out and talk to him, and let him know that she had seen a black bear in her back yard in Olivet, Mi. My father-in-law has ten acres near the city, and she witnessed this bear in her yard, and let him know that her dog was still so scared by the sightings, that he would barely go outside at night to take care of his business. While I wasn’t really surprised, it did hit home that bears were in this part of the state.

Now recently we have had a bear cub hit in Hastings, Mi and then, just last Friday, we had a bear shot in downtown Battle Creek by the city police. Having a bear that far south is just amazing and is definitely solidifying these bears presence in the southern part of the state.

I think it is pretty exciting, and while I think being able to hunt them down here, is a number of years down the road, I think it is going to add a whole new dimension to my hunt as I walk into the dark woods getting ready for a morning hunt. To know there could be a black bear in the area just makes it that much more exciting.

Pretty cool!

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