Another black bear sighting was reported in southwestern Illinois. Here’s the latest

The southwestern Illinois black bear is not staying put.

Illinois Conservation Police Officer Don Schachner confirmed Thursday afternoon a young male was spotted in Franklin County near the south end of Rend Lake.

“I would say that it’s the same bear,” Schachner said. “We haven’t had a confirmed bear sighting down here in three years and that wasn’t even a sighting: It was just evidence that one was here.”

Added Schachner, “I’d say it was the same bear. He’s just running a big loop.”

The bear was first spotted June 10 in Monroe County and then two days later in Clinton County. Then, Schachner said on Tuesday, he received a credible report the bear was in Dubois, a village in Washington County. Now, he’s apparently in Franklin County.

“Hopefully he gets down there in Shawnee National Forest and gets some wiggle room,” Schachner said. “He’ll probably have to travel through Marion, though. That could be a bit problematic. Logic would dictate that he would follow some sort of decent size water course, typically, because there is more water and habitat — but not necessarily.”

From the outset June 10, Schachner has stressed not to feed the bear, not to even make food available to the bear and to keep a safe distance.

“Once bears start associating people with food, they lose their fear of people and start to approach people,” he said Wednesday. “Right now, if we ever get a sustained population here — we’re a ways from that — the biggest thing is to be bear aware. Don’t leave your cat or dog out. Don’t intentionally feed them. Don’t crowd them. Enjoy them from a distance. Don’t take your trash out until the day of. If you follow those guidelines, you don’t have much to worry about.”

This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 4:25 PM.