Uptick In Bears Roaming North Metro
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Ramsey woman recently spotted an unusual animal digging in her bird feeder – a bear.
She's one of more than a dozen neighbors in the suburb who've called police over the furry intruder.
Carolyn Waataja said she isn't rolling out the welcome mat for Ramsey's newest residents.
"We have deer, we have coyotes, we've seen wolves out here," she said. "It's a little bit of everything. A bear is very different -- very scary."
They've been spotted spending a lot of time at bird feeders and digging through garbage.
In all, Ramsey Police have logged 15 calls in the last month, and that's a lot considering police usually get two calls each year.
The Department of Natural Resources has heard similar stories all across the north Metro this year. A spokesman says small bears are roaming from their mothers for the first time and they don't have experience finding food on their own.
And they've been showing up in places where people are making that finding food issue easy.
"We're asking citizens to take the bird feeders down temporarily, or control any food source for the bears," said Jeff Katers of the Ramsey Police Department.
Waataja is now waiting for her new neighbors to move on.
"I just hope we get rid of the bears," she said.
The DNR said never approach a bear, and don't try to scare them off because bears will protect their food.
