Black bears increasingly are putting the “wild” back into Ohio, as possibly 30 to 50 of the bruins have taken up residence in our state, and others wander in and out from neighboring states.

“We have confirmed observations of sows and cubs, which is indicative of a resident population,” said Ohio Division of Wildlife biologist Dave Swanson. “But we have no idea exactly how many bears are resident because we don't know how many of the bears that are seen are resident to Ohio.”

Swanson noted that in addition to resident bears, juvenile males annually may wander into eastern Ohio from Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the urge to establish new territories.

Overall resident bear numbers are going to increase, the biologist said, noting that the well-forested eastern half of the state is fair game for bear habitat. “That should be the extent of the range - at least at first.”

It is unlikely that any of the bears will make their way to the greater Toledo area anytime soon.

Swanson, who noted that bear sightings have tripled since 1993, said it will be a “good long while” - years - before it will become necessary for Ohio to manage bear numbers through hunting.

In 2000, 66 bear sightings were reported to the state wildlife division, compared with 25 in 1993, the first year that bear records were kept. Only 17 of last year's sightings were made by wildlife division staff who saw a bear or found tracks or scat to positively identify the animal.

This year bears already have been seen in Ashtabula, Athens, Belmont, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Morgan, Perry and Washington counties.

“Eventually we would like to put radio transmitters on some black bears, especially females,” Swanson said. “Such tracking information would help us get a clearer picture of how to manage Ohio's increasing bear population and better understand their hibernating and mating habits.”

Pennsylvania has a bear population of about 10,000, and West Virginia has between 6,000 and 8,000. Michigan has 16,000 bears, 90 percent of which live in the upper peninsula and most of the rest in the northern lower peninsula. Bear sightings in the lower peninsula, however, are moving south.

Tim Reis, a biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said there have been no recent reports of bears seen in extreme southeast Michigan, though a bear was confirmed in the Pontiac area several years ago.

It is good that people are aware of bears, Reis agreed, but he noted that not every bear sighting turns out to be a bear. Reis, who is based in Lansing, noted that on a recent walk he spied what at first he thought was a bear, only to realize on a second look that the animal was a large black dog.

“And I have been in bear research for 10 years,” Reis said.

Unconfirmed bear sightings, for example, recently have crossed this outdoors desk from nearby Dundee and Fostoria. Wildlife biologists from both states said that it is unlikely that the sightings were of bears. The habitat in this region simply is not right, and it is a very long way for a bear to travel unseen by others from its more natural range, say, in northern Michigan or eastern Ohio.

Black bears are best viewed from a distance, noted Swanson. Bears generally mind their own business, but a sow will be aggressive in protecting her cubs, and any bear may bluff a charge if it is surprised or harassed.

Keep in mind bears are big and powerful. Males or boars in Michigan, for example, range from 150 to 400 pounds, and females or sows from 100 to 250 pounds. Some boars weighed in Pennsylvania exceed 600 pounds. Black bears generally stand about three feet tall on all fours or about five feet tall when standing upright. Also, rest assured that bears can out-run, out-climb and out-eat humans.

“We recommend that anyone who sees a black bear should grab their camera, take a picture, report it to the Ohio Division of Wildlife, and give it plenty of room to move on,” Swanson said.

“But do not feed them. A bear may not know where a food handout stops and the hand begins.

“Enjoy them from a distance.”

As West Virginia biologists say, “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

First Published July 8, 2001, 10:34 a.m.