Police in Northern Minnesota are urging parents to not let their kids walk to school, as there have been several bear sightings. The Clearwater Sheriff's Office has said that bears have been spotted near an elementary school, thus prompting the alert to keep kids from walking to school until further notice.

This kind of alert doesn't happen here in Southern Minnesota, we don't really have a wild bear population. However, we aren't that far away from areas that do. Clearbrook, MN, where the alert went out, is about 5 hours North of us here, and is very close to three reservations, The Leech Lake, White Earth, and Red Lake Reservations. There is also a lot of wooded areas up there.

With all of the wooded areas, it stands to reason that you will see more wildlife, including bears. I did some research, and only found one instance of a bear attack in 2017, and only 6 since 2002 that required hospitalization. Bear attacks are not common, which is a good thing.

As the bears are coming out of hibernation, they are hungry and looking for food, and they can have cubs with them as well. Give them lots of room, and, do not get between a mother bear and her cub. They are beautiful animals, but, they are wild animals.

 

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