It’s that time of year. Black bear sightings are on the rise in Minnesota, and their range continues to expand.

Bears have been moving farther south and west since the ‘60s and ‘70s, but “markedly so over the last 20 years,” Andrew Tri, bear project leader at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told MPR News.

“In addition, we've had a small population of bears reproducing down in that whitewater country in southeastern Minnesota since the mid-90s,” Tri said.

“This is also the time of year where there's lots of bears moving about, and bears are off on their own,” Tri added. “Young male bears are trying to find their own place to set up shop, and they often follow river corridors, and that's often why we see bears in places we don't normally expect them.”

Climate change is not the culprit, according to Tri. Rather, it’s increased human tolerance that is allowing black bears to proliferate southern Minnesota.

“Twenty, 30, 40 years ago, most bear problems were unfortunately solved with a bullet,” he said. “Society doesn't tolerate that anymore.”

If you see a black bear, don’t panic. Make yourself big, get loud, and, if desired, you can use bear spray, he said. "If you come across a bear on the trail, it's not a scary thing, necessarily. It might be surprising, but black bears aren't inherently dangerous."

Find more tips on smart behavior and safety around bears on the DNR’s website.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.