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Black bear spotted wandering Edina neighborhood
Edina resident John Meehan sent FOX 9 footage from an outdoor camera of a black bear wandering through a yard early Saturday morning. It's the latest in a series of several bear sightings around the Twin Cities.
EDINA, Minn. (FOX 9) - Another day, and another black bear sighting in a Twin Cities neighborhood.
Black bear wanders through Edina backyard
The backstory:
Edina resident John Meehan woke up Saturday morning to a black bear making its way through his backyard. He sent FOX 9 footage of the bear on an outdoor camera just before 5:45 a.m., slowly making its way through the yard.
The bear was caught on camera on the 6100 block of Ewing Avenue South, which is also near Strachauer Park. It’s one of several recent bear sightings across the Twin Cities.
Burnsville bear sighting
Why you should care:
Brandon Buckvold, a Burnsville homeowner, captured a black bear on his home security cameras wandering his property Thursday night.
Buckvold said, "I didn't even believe it. I thought I was dreaming or something."
He has seen deer and coyotes in his neighborhood over the past 10 years but never a black bear.
Black bear in Elk River
In Elk River, a couple caught a bear trying to break into their birdfeeder, while another homeowner in the same community saw a pair of bears, possibly a mother and her 2-year-old cub, hanging out in his driveway a little more than a week ago.
A growing trend
Dig deeper:
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says black bears are becoming more common in the metro area because their natural range, usually the northern third of the state, is expanding.
Spencer Peter with the North American Bear Center said, "We do know the bear population in Minnesota is on the rise both in number and geographic coverage so we are seeing them in areas where the last 50 years we haven't."
Sightings tend to spike in the spring when young male bears are sent out by their mothers to fend for themselves for the first time.