Bears saunter into suburbs on snack search

It's spring, and black bears are wandering into northern Twin Cities suburbs, as far south as Fridley, in search of easy snacks until natural pickin's improve.

Anoka and Washington county dispatchers have received more than 18 bear calls since April in cities from Scandia on the St. Croix River to Anoka on the Rum River.

Anoka dispatchers handled three more bear sightings early Thursday morning on Blaine's border with Ham Lake and in Andover, about a mile from the wooded Rum River, said county communications manager John Todding. He said dispatchers have fielded at least 15 bear calls this spring, which seems higher than most springs.

Three Fridley residents spotted a bear around town on April 22 before an officer, with an OK from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), found and shot a 3-year-old bear that evening on a Rice Creek trail near Locke Park.

"It's the first bear I have ever seen or heard about in Fridley," said Lt. Mike Monsrud.

Female bears breed every two years and drive away their yearling cubs when they are breeding, said Bryan Lueth, DNR'S north metro wildlife manager. "The problem bears are like teenagers trying to find their place in the world," he added.

The cool spring has slowed development of plants that bears eat, he said.

Anoka High School students got their first bear visitor a week ago, said Steve Blaine, school liaison officer for 26 years. He said teacher Tara Larkin was walking with her class about noon on a wooded bike path near the Rum River.

"Ten feet away, this little furry thing runs out in front of them, across the path, down a steep ditch to Bunker Boulevard and across four lanes," he said.

Lueth said bears live year around in northern Anoka and Washington counties.