Officials have confirmed that a black bear was spotted in northern Vanderburgh County.
In a release, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources says its biologists confirmed the sighting northeast of Evansville, near the Warrick County town of Elberfeld early Sunday morning.
The officials studied a photo taken by a property owner that showed the adult bear in a clearing near a wooded area.
DNR mammalogist Brad Westrich said it was Indiana’s fourth confirmed black bear.
He noted the bear population is expanding in neighboring states.
Westrich says black bears are rarely aggressive toward human but he recommends removing or securing potential food sources from your yard.
He says bears can smell food “from more than a mile away.”
Suggestions include: do not feed a bear, observe it from a distance, do not climb a tree, advertise your presence by shouting and waving your arms while backing slowly away, and report bear sightings to the Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife.