› Forums › Geocaching in Wisconsin › Announcements › 250 lb. black bear spotted in Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • 05/31/2010 at 12:08 pm #1730219
    ecorangers

      Please be careful when geocaching in the Kettle Moraine State Forest in the Village of Kewaskum….Here’s part of the article from the Washington County Press Release:
      On 5/30/10 at 8:00 am the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Fond Du Lac County Sheriff’s Department that they had several sightings of a black bear in their county. Their latest sighting of the bear was near USH 45 near the Fond Du Lac, Washington county line. A short time later a Village of Kewaskum Police Officer spotted the bear on STH 28 on the east side of Kewaskum in Washington County. The bear was observed running into the Kettle Moraine State Forest. One local resident was able to photograph the bear and based on the photos and eyewitness accounts it is believed to be an adult black bear weighing 250-300 pounds.

      05/31/2010 at 1:07 pm #1929974
      furfool

        As a bear hunter, I’m glad to see their range expanding. The one that was tranquilized a couple of years ago in Wauwatosa, passed by within a couple of blocks of our house if it indeed traveled the route the authorities had figured. For those that get a chance to see one in SE Wi, what a treat.

        06/01/2010 at 7:43 pm #1929975
        Trekkin and Birdin
        Participant

          There have been huge increases in sightings outside their range this spring. At least one has been hanging around our area, seen as close as a couple blocks from our home. Also between a cacher and one of our caches last summer, LOL.

          I go to Iron County, Bear Capital of the state, and never see a thing. Well, once I did, but briefly.

          06/17/2010 at 1:18 am #1929976
          ecorangers

            To make a long story short, the bear was 12 feet up in a tree, they shot the bear with a tranquilizer dart, then the bear climbed another 5 feet, after 30 minutes of waiting for the bear to “sleep” they shot another dart in it, then the bear climbed even hire to about 30 feet and settled in a fork in the tree. In a few minutes the bear was unconsious and stuck in the forked branch. So the DNR officials took several unmounted tires, and inflated a number of large garbage bags that were tied to create cushions and placed them under a big tarp. When everything was in place, a Warden Supervisor climbed the ladder with a firefighter’s pole and pushed on the bear’s back side and it came loose. The bear hit a branch on the way down and did a 360 degree turn in midair. It landed on the custioned tarp, bounced up and rolled to the ground. They then loaded the bear into a cage on a trailer and drove it to northeast Wisconsin. AT 9:00pm, the bear walked off and climbed a tree….then it changed its mind, came down and walked away into the woods.!

            Sorry, guess it was a long story afterall. It appears to have a happy ending…but can the bear find love? Tami

            06/17/2010 at 2:39 am #1929977
            labrat_wr

              @ecorangers wrote:

              To make a long story short, the bear was 12 feet up in a tree, they shot the bear with a tranquilizer dart, then the bear climbed another 5 feet, after 30 minutes of waiting for the bear to “sleep” they shot another dart in it, then the bear climbed even hire to about 30 feet and settled in a fork in the tree. In a few minutes the bear was unconsious and stuck in the forked branch. So the DNR officials took several unmounted tires, and inflated a number of large garbage bags that were tied to create cushions and placed them under a big tarp. When everything was in place, a Warden Supervisor climbed the ladder with a firefighter’s pole and pushed on the bear’s back side and it came loose. The bear hit a branch on the way down and did a 360 degree turn in midair. It landed on the custioned tarp, bounced up and rolled to the ground. They then loaded the bear into a cage on a trailer and drove it to northeast Wisconsin. AT 9:00pm, the bear walked off and climbed a tree….then it changed its mind, came down and walked away into the woods.!

              Sorry, guess it was a long story afterall. It appears to have a happy ending…but can the bear find love? Tami

              @the bear wrote:

              I was just lookin’ for a Pic-a-nic basket!

              Disclaimer : Always answering to a higher power.

              07/01/2010 at 7:21 pm #1929978
              sevencards
              Participant

                There has been reports of a 2 yr old hanging out near souther Kettle Moraine, as far south as Mukwonago, hwy I and LO near GC2A1EJ, my newest cache placed a week before the sighting. The last reported sighting is in Dousman, WI therefore possible heading back north.

                07/01/2010 at 8:27 pm #1929979
                JimandLinda
                Participant

                  Another one seen on the south side of Waupun! 😯

                  07/02/2010 at 12:46 am #1929980
                  grandpa_r

                    http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q1RGLzIwMTAvMDYvMjYjQXIwMDEwMQ%3D%3D&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

                    Publication:Waukesha Freeman (Conley); Date:Jun 26, 2010; Section:Front Page; Page Number:1A

                    OCONOMOWOC – On Thursday at about 5:30 a.m., the Oconomowoc Police Department responded to two separate calls from residents who each reported seeing an approximately 150-pound black bear

                  • Author
                    Posts
                  Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
                  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.