All Creatures
I was reminded of the hymn "All Creatures of Our God and King" last Thursday evening when I encountered a black bear near Bethel Highlands. I was driving to Wendy's around 8:30 PM and the bear was just starting to cross the road at the bottom of the hill. As I approached the bear (in my car) it stood up, did an about face, landed back on all fours and went back in to the woods--rather than cross the road! It happened very quickly and I only had enough time to think "Oh, a bear!" There are many stories of black bears in the Hudson area and I have taken some photos of bear tracks, but this is the closest I have been to one!
Here is a link to a story and photos of black bears that have been observed in our area.
The December 2012 issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources also has an interesting article on black bears in Wisconsin (page 19-21). Did you know that Wisconsin has a thriving black bear population estimated at more than 22,000? The article also includes a map of black bear distribution throughout the state and indicates that bear distribution has expanded further south and southwest in our state. The map is color coded to indicate four categories of bear sightings across the state: abundant, common, occasional, and rare. St. Croix County is in the common sighting category.
The December 2012 issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources also has an interesting article on black bears in Wisconsin (page 19-21). Did you know that Wisconsin has a thriving black bear population estimated at more than 22,000? The article also includes a map of black bear distribution throughout the state and indicates that bear distribution has expanded further south and southwest in our state. The map is color coded to indicate four categories of bear sightings across the state: abundant, common, occasional, and rare. St. Croix County is in the common sighting category.
