Black bear was out looking for a love connection
NEW PHILADELPHIA – The black bear that wandered through Tuscarawas County is no stranger to the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
Wildlife Officer Mike Budd says they have been tracking the bear through reported sightings since it entered Ohio from Pennsylvania. He says the bear has been spotted as far north as the Division of Wildlife’s District 2 in northwest Ohio and was seen in the Coshocton area the week before it appeared in Tuscarawas County.
The black bear was spotted early last week in Dover and later in the week in New Philadelphia. Budd says they’ve received about 25 reported sightings in Tuscarawas County.
He says it’s a juvenile male looking for a mate. Budd says typically juvenile male black bears return to Pennsylvania because there are not likely to find a female black bear in Ohio.
He says they are docile and will run away from people unless they feel cornered. He recommends leaving them alone.
Budd says this bear is about average size – between 100 and 250 pounds. It has a patch of white fur on its chest.
Budd says people should report black bear sightings at the Ohio Division of Wildlife website – wildohio.gov.