Black Bear Caught On Video In St. Louis Park Yard

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN — A friendly black bear may be roaming through your neighborhood. One was spotted in a residential area of St. Louis Park on Sunday night.

Just after 10 p.m., Judy Houseman's security camera alerted her that there was something — or someone — moving about her front yard.

She could hardly believe her own eyes, however, when she watched the security camera footage, which showed a large black bear.

"Neither one of us could believe what we were seeing," Houseman, speaking of her husband, told Minnesota Public Radio. "To see a bear walking through my yard in St. Louis Park is pretty crazy. He was just passing through."

MPR posted the video on YouTube.

Bear sightings are becoming less rare in the Twin Cities metro area. More than 30 have been spotted in Hennepin County so far in 2022, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Black bears usually try to avoid people. However, if the bear appears to be aggressive or agitated, call 911.

In general, conservation authorities say the best course of action is to avoid the bear, report it to the DNR, and allow it to leave the area naturally.

In 2019, a bear in a residential area of North St. Paul was shot and killed by a DNR conservation officer as authorities determined the animal posed an immediate safety threat.

Bear sightings outside of their primary northern forest range can be reported on an interactive map-based application on the Minnesota DNR website.

Read more at MPR.