Black Bear Spotted In Clinton County

2020 has a had a lot interesting stuff happen that will go down in history. At this point, anything that's pretty crazy gets added to the "Ahh it's 2020, are you surprised?" list. There is something new to add that list for eastern Iowans, a black bear roaming around.

For the first time in my life, I had to Google "how many black bears live in Iowa?" to make sure that the recent siting of a bear in Clinton County was in fact an odd siting. According to the Iowa DNR, black bears mainly live in the northern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Bears don't live in Iowa. Unless you're a Chicago Bears fan (gross).

A black bear was recently spotted heading south in Clinton County. I first heard of a black bear in eastern Iowa when I saw a Facebook post about someone spotting the black bear in Dubuque County.

According to this post from Jayme Leigh, the bear has been spotted in Platteville, Wisconsin, Galena, Illinois, and in the outskirts of Dubuque County. Another picture taken on social media shows the black bear somewhere between Dubuque and Jackson County headed towards the Bellevue area.

Yesterday, the black bear made its way into Clinton County. Greg Boll took pictures of the bear in Clinton County, and his post has now been shared 3,200 plus times. Clearly, this bear is heading directly south and if my assumptions are correct, this bear may be in Scott County, or the surrounding area, shortly.

Good luck in your travels black bear! For all you humans out there, stay away from this black bear. Black bears can be very dangerous and to avoid from anyone getting hurt, including the bear, please keep your distance and let the black bear continue its journey.