June is in full swing, which means sightings like this are becoming more frequent in Iowa. Even if these sightings are becoming more common, they can be a little surprising if they catch you off guard.
In the first week of June, someone captured a photo of an unexpected friend joining them for a round of golf, and now we have another unexpected visitor in McGregor, Iowa.
Imagine coming home from work or receiving a notification on your phone that your ring camera has gone off. You might assume it’s the mailman or the Amazon delivery guy, and when you open the app, you see this guy checking your bird feeder.
According to KWWL, summer is mating season for black bears. 99 times out of 100, black bears in Iowa will be seen in the northeastern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the state. More black bear activity has been observed in Iowa in recent years as they will travel from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Vince Evelsizer is a wetlands biologist and furbearer for the Iowa DNR and he told KWWL that there is a bear that appears to have started living in Dubuque within the last 4 years. They have named it “Google Eye.”
“A few years ago, he typically wandered around the city limits and spent a significant amount of time within the city limits on the north side of Dubuque. Fortunately, many residents were quite tolerant of him this year, and somewhat last year last year, but especially this year, so far, as far as we know, it has stayed outside the city limits.”
While Google Eye has been residing in Dubuque, he does not appear to have family and may be wandering around this summer looking for a mate. There are currently no records of black bear cubs in the state of Iowa.
“He seems to be single. We assume he’s a man. He may be single this time, but we’ll see.”
Google Eye is supposed to really love his home in Dubuque. Not only does it spend summers in Iowa, but it also hibernates there during the winter.
If you encounter a black bear, it usually looks for food. If one wanders into the city limits, keep your distance and DO NOT FEED IT. You can store the bird feeder when you are not using it. You must secure your trash and also your grill. Normally, when a bear cannot find food, it retreats to its familiar habitat.
Be sure to keep track of your pets if you spend time outdoors. If you are not confident in his ability to return when called, you may consider putting him on a leash.
It can be exciting to see a black bear and you may want to try to capture a photo or hope to see it again with your circle camera, but always remember that safety must come first.
If you think seeing a bear would be exciting, remember that time you got to see a giraffe in an Iowa cornfield?
Giraffe seen in Iowa
Don’t look now…but there’s a long-necked creature living in an Iowa cornfield!
Gallery credit: James Patrick
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It’s time to hit the road: Stacker compiled a list of the best scenic drives in Iowa using Tripadvisor data as of March 2024.
Gallery credit: stacker
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