Most bears seen in Ohio are probably just visiting

The black bear killed Tuesday on Interstate 77 near Akron is reflective of an increase in bear sightings reported to the Ohio Division of Wildlife in the past decade.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean more bears live in the state, said Nathan Stricker, biology supervisor at the division’s Olentangy Research Station.

That’s because not every sighting can be confirmed. Sometimes, a reported sighting includes a photo that ends up being of a black dog that someone saw from across a field. Other times, a report lacks a photo or a preciseenough location for wildlife officers to validate it.

And bears are mobile — they can travel up to 20 miles per night — so six people could report sightings in six different locations that turn out to be of the same bear.

Still, the rise in sightings is helpful in learning more about bears in Ohio, wildlife experts say.

“The beginning phase of tracking the population relies on however many sightings we get,” said Katie Dennison, a wildlife biologist with the Division of Wildlife.

The division estimates the bear population in Ohio to be between 50 and 100. They’re all black bears, mostly in the eastern and southeastern parts of the state.

Since the division began tracking bear sightings in 1993, the only confirmed sighting in Franklin County was in 2004. That bear wandered near Grove City, where the Division of Wildlife captured it. A radio collar indicated it was from West Virginia, where it was returned.

There were two unconfirmed sightings in Franklin County, in 1999 and 2016. One bear was confirmed in Licking County in 2003, and five in Fairfield County, the most recent of which was in 2015. That bear died after being hit by a vehicle on Route 33 near Lancaster.

A defining feature of Ohio’s current bear population is that most aren’t here to stay, experts say. They’re likely young male bears from either Pennsylvania or West Virginia that leave their mother’s territory in search of breeding partners, only to depart Ohio when they can’t find a mate.

The black bear killed near Akron fits that description.

Dennison said the most recent exception to that pattern came in 2016 near Ashtabula in northeastern Ohio, when the presence of a female bear with young cubs was confirmed. Wildlife officers aren’t sure whether that bear stayed in Ohio, Dennison said. But bears breed every other year, so if there are reports of a female bear and cubs again this summer, it might mean a breeding population has been established in Ohio.

Black bears were considered gone from Ohio by 1850.

Even if there are no indications of a breeding population this summer, Dennison is confident that will happen one day, especially if the bear populations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania remain robust. It will be a slow process, she said.

“But still, It’s definitely something that we’ll see in the coming years,” Dennison said.