Bear Caught on Video near Aberdeen

While it's true that South Dakota is known for having a wide variety of animals that inhabit our state, an unusual one popped up on the radar in the northern part on Tuesday.

Dakota News Now is reporting that a black bear was spotted near a Brown County livestock farm, about six miles west of Aberdeen on Tuesday morning.

While it's not unusual to see a bear in South Dakota, bear sightings typically tend to happen in the Black Hills area in the western part of the state.

Tuesday's rare visitor was spotted by Allen Luce and his fiance, Sheryl Erickson. Erickson took a video of the bear meandering along near their house. She posted the video to social media, and it has become quite the hit.

Come to find out, Tuesday's bear may have actually been spotted earlier by someone else late last week.

Dakota News Now reports that on Friday (May 22), Nick Cochran, a South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks conservation officer, also spotted a bear. This time it was near Houghton South Dakota, about 30 miles northeast of Aberdeen.

When conservation officers went to investigate, they were unable to locate the bear. However, they did find tracks.

Cochran told Dakota News Now, the nearest bear population is in northern Minnesota, and more than likely, this bear probably wandered down from there.

Cochran said on occasion officers have spotted bears near the Lake Traverse area in the northeast corner of South Dakota. Tuesday's sighting is the farthest west spotting he can remember.

As Dakota News Now reports, while it is not common to find bears in the area, officers do not believe it is a threat. Bears will occasionally go after bird feeders or rummage through people's garbage looking for something to eat.

The Game Fish and Parks Department plan to leave the bear alone unless, of course, it becomes a problem.

Should you happen to see the bear, and want to report it, you can do so by calling (605) 881-7594.

Source: Dakota News Now

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