'Dexter bear' appears to be gone for good
When I decided to intern at a news website in a college town during the summer, I knew that I might get some interesting assignments due to a seasonal lack of activity in Ann Arbor.
Despite no previous animal experiences outside dog walking, I wrote stories about bears and swans, and even “judged” a wildlife photo contest. As the bear story grew and developed, I learned much more than expected about the eating habits, hibernation practices, and migrations patterns of black bears.
Then the bear disappeared.
One person called me to tell me she heard from someone that heard from someone that some farmer may or may not have shot the bear. The Department of Natural Resources removed their trap from Mast Road, and received one unconfirmed sighting in Barton Hills.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department stopped receiving tips, and the bear slowly faded into our memories. The actual bear that is, since the Dexter Bear Facebook page continues to update regularly.
One famous "bear" (Yogi Berra) said “it ain’t over ‘till it’s over.” So as my summer in Ann Arbor heads to a close, I had to try to find out what actually happened to the Dexter bear.
“It’s completely fallen off the map,” Kristin Bissel, a DNR wildlife biologist, said. “We’re not sure what happened.”
In a press release earlier in July, the DNR announced that a private facility in Jackson admitted to be missing an unregistered bear, leading the department to believe that the bear spotted in Dexter was not a wild bear as had previously been believed.
“Our impression is that it’s very unlikely that it was a wild bear,” Bissel said. “But you can’t confirm that’s the bear until you have the bear in hand.”
Unfortunately, the DNR was never able to have the bear in hand and cannot be sure whether it was the escaped bear. There has been a southward trend in the back bear population of the Lower Peninsula, but without trapping the bear, the DNR can only guess whether this bear was a part of that migration.
“It’s a trend we’ve known about for years. The bear population is expanding into the southern part of the state,” Bissel said. “It’s just that this particular bear is probably not a part of that population. Every now and then a bear comes down and pops up somewhere, but we don’t believe that was the case here.”
Picture Courtesy Washtenaw Sherriff's Office
Without new tips or sightings, both the DNR, and the sheriff’s office can only sit and wait.
Derrick Jackson, the sheriff's communication director, said in an email that the office has no plans for further action at this point.
As part of the Black Bear Management Plan adopted by the DNR in 2009, one goal of the department is to “Allow bear population to expand naturally into southern Michigan to the extent social acceptance allows.”
Bissel said she does not expect that black bears will become common in Southeast Michigan within the next couple years.
However, Yogi Berra has another quote that may be suitable: “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
Ben Freed is a summer intern at AnnArbor.com. You can reach him by email at benfreed@annarbor.com or by phone at (734)-623-4674. Follow him on Twitter @BFreedInA2.
Comments
robert
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 8:41 a.m.
You shouldn't play around with peoples safety. Undertoned meanings or a trial at humor is no place in real reporting. Stick with "Just the facts mam."
Bertha Venation
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 8:25 p.m.
I could swear I saw him driving a Studebaker with a pig and a frog, headed east on Washtenaw Avenue, hummin' along, singin'a song.
townie54
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 3:37 a.m.
I saw that car at a burger king in saginaw.Elvis was driving though
Tru2Blu76
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 7:50 p.m.
quote: "In a press release earlier in July, the DNR announced that a private facility in Jackson admitted to be missing an unregistered bear, leading the department to believe that the bear spotted in Dexter was not a wild bear as had previously been believed." --- Which leaves us with more questions, such as: 1. Was the escaped bear a female and did it have a cub with it when it escaped?! 2. What are the penalties for having an unregistered "wild animal" and are there regulations governing the reporting of lost "exhibit" wildlife? quote: "Without new tips or sightings, both the DNR, and the sheriff's office can only sit and wait." --- I have no relationship to the mentioned agencies but I object on their behalf because: we all know that DNR and sheriff's department officers do not "only sit and wait" - they carry on with their tasks and duties while monitoring for subjects under their jurisdiction. Please take this message away with you after you've left your internship, Mr. Freed. Finally: title should read: "Dexter *bears* appear to be gone...
julieswhimsies
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 6:34 p.m.
I would bet money that some local yahoo, shot and killed this bear (bears). This saddens me.
jns131
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 3:50 p.m.
Southward trend migration eh? Hate to say it bears, need to go northward. This heat is for those who enjoy it without fur. I may join you northward as well. Good luck to the bear. I hope nothing happened to him and he or she, is safe and happy.
zeeba
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 3:25 p.m.
A "private facility in Jackson"? Might this be Ted Nugent's fabled hunting preserve? The one where he keeps wild hogs that he insists can never, ever escape and ravage local ecosystems? The one where he and his buddies/paid clients sit around the campfire and talk about how foolish state regulations on private game farms are? Is that the private facility we're talking about?
John B.
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 8:13 p.m.
Probably.
Dexter Bear
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 3:18 p.m.
Thanks for the shout out! My 15 minutes of fame are over, and that makes me a sad panda. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Lynn Liston
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 3:47 p.m.
It was a great 15 minutes that brightened the day for all us bear-loving fans!
al
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 2:20 p.m.
Mr. Ranger's not's going to like this Yogi.
jns131
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 3:52 p.m.
He took his picnic basket and went home. Without ranger permission.
Tom Teague
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 2:20 p.m.
Since Yogi Bear wasn't a real bear either -- but a cartoon character -- the Berra/Bear reference wasn't really such a problem. I got the joke. However, I will remind anyone quoting the great Mr. Berra, that the provenance of many of those quotes is in question. After all, as Yogi (the ball player) once said, "I never said most of the things I said."
Gary Lillie
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 1:16 p.m.
@Jack. You mean those quotes weren't from a real bear? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Ben Freed may have known that.
Jack Gladney
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 8:45 p.m.
Do ya think? If Mr. Freed had done a little research, he (and you) would know that Yogi Berra was never known as "bear." I am sure he has mellowed over the years, but he actually detested those who made an association between himself and the cartoon character. Whilst Hannah-Barbera denied any connection, Yogi believed it was a way to capitalize on his own popularity as a ball player. A more ambitious writer might have googled some quotations by Alabama's Bear Bryant to come up with some funny bear quips.
Bertha Venation
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 12:25 p.m.
Farewell, Lover.... Was it something I said? (sniff, sniff)
Elaine F. Owsley
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 12:05 p.m.
Love the Yogi quotes. Miss the bear sightings.
Will Warner
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 11:42 a.m.
Hey, what a Boo Boo. It just proves that ninety percent of the game is half mental.
Tom Teague
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 2:36 p.m.
Stephen - if EVER a comment earned a borscht-belt drummer's rimshot, yours was it.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 2:31 p.m.
Is that "wild game"?
obviouscomment
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 11:25 a.m.
I would not be surprised if a farmer shot it, especially since it seems there were getting little help with getting rid of it in another way. If it was costing them money, what's to keep them from just shooting and burying it somewhere. Of course they wouldn't come forward because they would probably get fined in some way.
Jack Gladney
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 10:29 a.m.
Also one correction: Yogi Berra is not a bear. He is a former player/manager for the New York Mets and the New York Yankees from the mid 1940s until the mid 1980s. Yogi Bear was a Hannah-Barbara animated cartoon character from the late 1950s until the late 1980s. He liked picnic baskets.
Boo Radley
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 2:03 p.m.
Mr. Freed included two quotes from baseball great Yogi Berra in his article. I didn't see that he confused him with Yogi Bear. But the added quotation marks are an improvement.
Paula Gardner
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 12:30 p.m.
I just added quotation marks around "bear" in that reference to clarify that it's a playful reference.
actionjackson
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 12:23 p.m.
"Hey Boo Boo it's the Ranger"
Jack Gladney
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 12:16 p.m.
Elaine Yogi Berra is in his mid 80s now. I would dare any reporter to call him "bear" to his face when he was in his prime.
Elaine F. Owsley
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 12:07 p.m.
It was a joke, for heaven's sake.
obviouscomment
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 11:23 a.m.
"picinic baskets"
jwally
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 10:25 a.m.
Smaaaarter than the av-ver-age (Hopefully not R.I.P) bear.
Jack Gladney
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 10:18 a.m.
Thanks for the bear update. Any word on the fire at Willow Tree Apartments that Detroit's WXYZ broke over two hours ago?
John B.
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 8:11 p.m.
They've bear-ly had time to cover that story.