Imagine Finding One of These on Your Iowa Ring Camera [VIDEO]
June is in full swing which means sightings like this one becoming more frequent in Iowa. Even if these sightings are becoming more common, they can be a bit startling if you're caught off guard.
In the first week of June, someone captured a photo of an unexpected friend joining them for a round of golf, and now we have another unexpected visitor in McGregor, Iowa.
Imagine getting home from work or getting a notification on your phone that your ring camera has gone off. You might assume it's the mailman/woman or Amazon delivery driver, and when you open the app, you see this guy checking out your bird feeder!
According to KWWL, summer is mating season for black bears. 99 times out of 100, black bears in Iowa will be spotted in the northeast, east, and southeastern parts of the state. More black bear activity has been seen in Iowa over the last few years as they will travel from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Vince Evelsizer is a Furbearer and Wetland Biologist for the Iowa DNR and he told KWWL that there is one bear that has appeared to begin living in Dubuque for the past 4 years. They've given him the name "Google Eye."
"A few years ago, he would typically wander into the city limits and spend a significant amount of time within the city limits on the North side of Dubuque. A lot of residents were fortunately pretty tolerant of him this year, and somewhat last year, but especially this year. So far, he has stayed out of the city limits to our knowledge."
While Google Eye has been residing around Dubuque, he doesn't appear to have a family and he may be wandering around this summer in search of a mate. There are currently no black bear cubs, on record, in the state of Iowa.
"He seems to be single. We are guessing he's a male. He may be a bachelor this time, but we'll see."
Google Eye supposedly really loves his Dubuque home. Not only does he spend his summers in Iowa, but he also hibernates there in the winter.
Safety Tips
If you do encounter a black bear, they are normally looking for food. If one does wander into city limits, keep your distance, and DO NOT FEED them. You can put away your bird feeder when you're not using it. You should secure your garbage and your grill as well. Normally, when a bear doesn't find food, they retreat to their familiarized habitat.
Be sure to keep track of your pets if you're spending time outside. If you aren't confident in their abilities to come back when you call them, you may want to consider putting them on a leash.
It may be exciting to spot a black bear and you may want to try and capture a photo or hope to see them on your ring camera again, but always remember that safety should come first.
If you think spotting a bear would be exciting, do you remember that time you could've spotted a giraffe in an Iowa cornfield?
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Gallery Credit: James Patrick
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Gallery Credit: Stacker