HOWARD, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – From deer to birds, Kathy Patterson sees plenty of wildlife in her backyard but, as she tells FOX 11, not very often does that include bears.
“I was making dinner. I said oh my a bear and he said no and sure enough, it was right there. It was running. It came up. It stood up, went on the bird feeder where the log goes and grabbed the log, gently, and sat down and ate it.”
Patterson pulled out her cellphone and started to record. While it’s unclear if she saw the bear that’s being nicknamed Howard, she says she’s not too worried about spending time in her backyard.
“I think it’s more afraid of us.”
Animal control officer Monica Hoff’s been keeping a close eye on Howard’s movement. Hoff tells FOX 11 one of the first reported sightings came on July 1st.
“It was over here, kind of, off of Cardinal behind the Piggly Wiggly area. There’s a big wild area for lack of a better word. After that, around July 3/4 between Rockwell and Hillcrest on the Mountain-Bay Trail. And then on either side of the trail, it was spotted in neighborhoods in that area.”
Hoff says it looks like the bear is moving west through the village.
“It looks like a small bear, a yearling… last year’s cub that just got kicked out by mom this past spring, so it’s on its own now.”
Hoff says the bear is probably looking for food and a new place to live. For now, no plans are in place to try and relocate the bear.
“The few sightings we have had is because it’s being drawn to a food source but it’s not acting abnormally and it’s not really staying in one spot.”
The state DNR estimates there are more than 28,000 bears roaming around Wisconsin.
