Lions, tigers and a bear ... oh my!

NEPONSET — The black bear that has been playing hide and seek with western Bureau County residents since June 26 has made another appearance. “I was driving down the Kentville at 7:30 (p.m.) last Friday, coming home from the Kewanee Sale Barn,” said Ron Miller. “I saw this large, black figure ahead of me on the left-hand side, standing at the edge of the corn.” It was the wrong shape to be a horse or a cow, but when Miller got to about 50 yards away, he figured out what the figure was. “I thought it was the black bear that had probably been seen at Sheffield, so I slowed on down and stopped,” he said.

On June 26, Sheffield business owner Tim Ries reported sighting a bear on the west edge of Sheffield near the railroad tracks by the junction of Routes 34 and 6. Additional sightings were later reported at the Mautino State Fish and Wildlife Area, southwest of Sheffield, and the landscape waste dumpsite on the west side of Sheffield.

Miller backed up his Jeep until he was about 20 feet away, fully expecting the bear to take off at any minute. Instead, the bear just stood there, for a good two and one-half minutes.

“He stood on his hind legs there just like Smokey the Bear,” he said. “The bear seemed oblivious to the fact that I was there.”

Miller said the bear, about five and one-half feet tall, stood there with his brown nose up in the air, searching for a scent, before dropping down on all four legs and walking into the cornfield.

Miller said the whole thing was quite a thrill.

“I was absolutely not afraid of this bear,” he said. “I was in the Jeep, and he was on his feet, so I could outrun him.”

After the bear disappeared, Miller notified Glen Shaner Jr. and Doug Miles, who both live near the area, about what he’d seen.

“I knew that he and Doug would both like to see that bear, and I wanted them to know he was in the neighborhood,” Miller said.

But, other than his wife, he didn’t tell anyone else that night.

“I was afraid someone might shoot the bear, so I didn’t tell anyone else until the next afternoon,” he said. “I think there are people out there who would use an excuse to shoot the bear, and think they’d done something pretty important.”

Miller said he’d read that the bears are not aggressive unless cornered or threatened, so that while people should be watchful, there’s no need to be afraid of the bear.

On Monday, Randy Hasbrook of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office called Miller to confirm the story.

“We know each other, so he knew I hadn’t been drinking,” Miller said. “There were no pink elephants or anything else.”

Miller hopes the sheriff’s department is able to find the bear, tranquilize it, and get it to a safer place.

“I don’t know why anyone would think about going out and shooting this black bear with a gun or a bow or anything,” he said. “It would just be a dirty shame if someone did that.”

Anyone who sees the bear should contact the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department at (815) 875-3344.