Despite black bear sightings, one as recently as Dec. 1 according to Senior Naturalist Dan Best of the Geauga Park District, the notorious backyard-trespassing creatures weren’t spotted as much in 2017 as they’ve been in recent years.
Therein, Best noted, is the challenge of what animals and birds are “trending” in Northeast Ohio.
“Things certainly shift regarding all wildlife, but our last reported sighting of a black bear was at Big Creek (Park) in Chardon,” he said. “They get a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but they haven’t been around much that we’ve noticed. We see a variety of wildlife, and new trends are focusing on birds of prey, and believe it or not, river otters.
“Bobcats, though not too common in our region, are reclaiming their Ohio range, more in the eastern and southeastern part of the state. That’s noteworthy. Like black bears, we always have our ear on the wall regarding them.”
North American river otters, “elusive but playful,” according to Best, are more prevalent because of Geauga County headwater streams, which the creatures use as travel routes.
“Everyone knows them,” Best said. “They also feed in hundreds of private property ponds. They just jump in, get fish and head back to where they’re going.”
Birds of prey
Over the last decade, Geauga County also has experienced a surge in the population of a certain kind of bird — the osprey, which has been spotted at the park district’s Observatory Park property in Montville Township.
“They’ve gone from migrants to breeding birds,” Best said, adding that up to 10 pairs of nests have been spotted on area cell towers. “They go to Florida, and even as far as South America, but they’ve maintained a good presence here, reintroduced to the Ohio River. They can be spotted between April and early October.
“We’ve seen them at Bass Lake Preserve (in Munson Township) and Punderson State Park in Newbury. It’s quite dramatic to watch them drop out of the sky to get fish.”
The Ohio Division of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife Bald Eagle Nesting Survey reports that bald eagle populations have continued to flourish in Ohio and have stabilized in the past four to five years.
“In 2016, approximately 207 eagle nests were observed within the state, which was the same as 2015,” said Dan Burnett, chief of interpretive services at Lake Metroparks Penitentiary Glen Reservation in Kirtland. “In their 2016 Midwinter Flight Survey, they counted 98 adult bald eagles and 124 immature eagles for a total of 222, which has steadily increased from 2014.”
Snowy owls have also maintained steady populations, too, according to Best.
“They have also had an invasion year, and sightings have been reported from far as Conneaut to Lorain, and even further south in the state.”
Bobcats, black bears and foxes
Though bobcats, as Best noted, have reclaimed their range, they aren’t as prevalent in Northeast Ohio over the last two to three years. However, Wildlife Center Manager Tammy O’Neil, with Lake Metroparks, said bobcat sightings were confirmed in 36 of Ohio’s 88 counties in 2013.
“Their population is doing well, but it’s in their nature is to keep to themselves,” she said. “They don’t want to interact with humans. It’s very possible they pass through, we’ve just not verified any sightings. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t there. You could have fox den in your yard for years and not know it.”
Bobcats, while still protected, are no longer on the endangered species list.
Wildlife Ecologist Jon Cepek of Cleveland Metroparks agreed with O’Neil.
“I would assume we’ll keep hearing of sightings throughout the years,” he said. “Their increase in population is monitored, but they aren’t as common in our system as coyotes and red foxes.
“We have documented evidence, however, of a gray fox in one of our reservations. That’s rare due to their declining population throughout the state.”
While Cepek acknowledged there will always be “a few transients” when it comes to black bears, sporadic sightings aren’t indicative of concentrated regional overpopulation.
Burnett said black bears will always “trend” in Ohio.
“The state is home to them year-round. According to the Ohio Division of Natural Resources, there are approximately 70 or so black bears reported annually, with sightings increasing in the summer months, especially in Ashtabula, Geauga, Trumbull and Portage counties. Over the past 10 years, black bears have been spotted occasionally each year, usually in early summer, wandering through or near Lake Metroparks, most notably Penitentiary Glen, as was the most recent case back on June 25 when Kirtland police reported a sighting in the area of Kirtland-Chardon Road.
“This was most likely the same bear reported by Chardon police on June 23, where the bear raided a number of bird feeders in residents’ back yards,” Burnett said. “In 2016, a black bear surprised two hikers and their dog right behind the Nature Center on Glen Meadow Loop, but by the time staff were notified, almost instantly, the bear was gone without incident.”
Reports of black bear sightings, and signs of their wanderings, such as tracks, scat and damaged bird feeders, have been seen at the park or in the neighborhood every summer.
“Black bears are generally shy and try to avoid people,” Burnett said. “If you see a bear, we recommend the following: stay calm, allow plenty of space between you and the bear, back slowly away and exit the area. Above all, leave the bear alone. Bear sightings are most often young males traveling from Pennsylvania in search of a mate and new territory and generally do not stay long.”
Don’t miss
>> How to keep your dog safe from frigid temperatures
>> Hunters check nearly 73,000 deer in weeklong hunting season
