Black bear sightings confirmed in Flat Rock-Rockwood, Carleton areas
The Michigan DNR says residents in two Southeast Michigan communities have reported black bear sightings in recent days.
According to the DNR, the first sighting happened around 1:13 a.m. on May 10 when a black bear was captured on a cellular trail camera near Carleton in Monroe County.
The second sighting happened on the night of May 10 or early morning of May 11 in the Flat Rock-Rockwood area. The sighting was reported in the area of Woodruff Road, between Olmstead Road and Interstate 75, in the Wayne County community, and the bear was captured on security footage.
The DNR says it is likely the same bear was spotted in both instances.
"The bear population in the northern Lower Peninsula has grown considerably since 2012, which has resulted in an expanded distribution of bear across the northern Lower Peninsula and more bears dispersing from the northern Lower Peninsula into areas of the southern Lower Peninsula," a DNR spokesperson said. "While most of this activity is in the more forested areas of the western part of the Peninsula, we would certainly expect bear observations in the southeast Lower Peninsula to increase with a larger population in the northern Lower Peninsula and bears more widely distributed across the Peninsula. One of the objectives identified in our Michigan Bear Management Plan is to allow bear population to expand naturally into southern Michigan to the extent social acceptance allows."
Bears in Michigan
The Michigan DNR says black bears — known scientifically as Ursus americanus — are the only species of bear known to live in the wild in Michigan. Adult black bears stand about three feet high on all fours and about five feet tall when upright.
"Black bears are generally fearful of humans and will leave if they are aware of your presence," the DNR says. "Treat bears with respect and observe them from a distance."
The DNR estimates about 2,100 black bears live in Michigan's Lower Peninsula and about 10,300 in the Upper Peninsula.