DARLINGTON - Jalaine Ruegsegger, Darlington, didn't expect to see a black bear in her yard Friday morning.
She thought it was a raccoon.
"We have deer and coons here all the time," she said.
Ruegsegger, who lives on Wildcat Road near Darlington, was putting some varnish on her front door at about 11:30 a.m. when she heard an animal eating from a bird feeder. When she turned around, she saw a black bear eating bird seed.
"It was about 20 yards away," she said. "He had the bird feeder between his paws and was eating."
She wasn't scared of the bear. She was just shocked to see it, she said. She ran inside the house to get her camera.
"I thought 'Oh my God, it's a black bear.'"
The bear ate some bird seed and then slowly walked over to sniff at some bird houses before it walked away.
"It was pretty docile," she said.
Ruegsegger wasn't the only person to see the bear Friday.
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Department reported a motorist contacted the department at about 10:30 a.m. after seeing the bear crossing Wisconsin 81 near the intersection of Otter Creek Road about three miles east of Darlington.
The bear was walking in a northerly direction, Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said in a news release.
Pedley said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was called.
"We don't know for sure if this is the same bear observed in Jo Daviess County, Ill., yesterday (Thursday)," Pedley said.
Lafayette County Chief Deputy John Reichling said it's common for cubs to spend their first year with their mother and then leave when another batch of cubs is born the following spring. He said the DNR speculated that might be the case with the bear seen Friday.
"It sounds like this guy is a younger bear who is heading north," Reichling said.
Pedley said it's not uncommon for a bear to be this far south.
"It is likely not the first time that a black bear has actually been in our county during the mating season," he said.
He said there is no reason for anyone to panic.
"If you leave it alone, it will leave you alone," Reichling added.
She thought it was a raccoon.
"We have deer and coons here all the time," she said.
Ruegsegger, who lives on Wildcat Road near Darlington, was putting some varnish on her front door at about 11:30 a.m. when she heard an animal eating from a bird feeder. When she turned around, she saw a black bear eating bird seed.
"It was about 20 yards away," she said. "He had the bird feeder between his paws and was eating."
She wasn't scared of the bear. She was just shocked to see it, she said. She ran inside the house to get her camera.
"I thought 'Oh my God, it's a black bear.'"
The bear ate some bird seed and then slowly walked over to sniff at some bird houses before it walked away.
"It was pretty docile," she said.
Ruegsegger wasn't the only person to see the bear Friday.
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Department reported a motorist contacted the department at about 10:30 a.m. after seeing the bear crossing Wisconsin 81 near the intersection of Otter Creek Road about three miles east of Darlington.
The bear was walking in a northerly direction, Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said in a news release.
Pedley said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was called.
"We don't know for sure if this is the same bear observed in Jo Daviess County, Ill., yesterday (Thursday)," Pedley said.
Lafayette County Chief Deputy John Reichling said it's common for cubs to spend their first year with their mother and then leave when another batch of cubs is born the following spring. He said the DNR speculated that might be the case with the bear seen Friday.
"It sounds like this guy is a younger bear who is heading north," Reichling said.
Pedley said it's not uncommon for a bear to be this far south.
"It is likely not the first time that a black bear has actually been in our county during the mating season," he said.
He said there is no reason for anyone to panic.
"If you leave it alone, it will leave you alone," Reichling added.