Another black bear sighting in southern Illinois. Is this one we’ve already seen?

Is it the one that came from Kentucky then swam the Mississippi into Missouri in late July?

Or is this “Dewey,” the one that first showed up in Valmeyer before trekking north through Belleville and Fairview Heights before taking a hard eastward turn through O’Fallon, Mascoutah and Scott Air Force Base?

Or is this yet another black bear to be spotted this summer in southern Illinois? The latest sightings occurred on Kincaid Lake near Murphysboro on Sunday.

Dalton Favier posted video of the bear swimming across the lake to his Facebook page. Other images from other sightings followed, including video submitted to KFVS-TV of a bear climbing a tree near the lake.

Don Schachner, a conservation officer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, says he can’t be absolutely sure if it’s one of the bears already spotted or a new visitor to the region, “but if I was a betting man, I’d very gladly put my money on it being the bear we saw in Belleville and the Shrine.”

“It puts him right in line with where he’s already been,” Schacher said.

Dubbed “Dewey” by followers in social media, the black bear was spotted in Valmeyer and Columbia on Aug. 4, then followed a route that took him along Illinois 157 near Dupo, Belleville at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Snows, near the Madison County line, then east to Fairview Heights, O’Fallon, Lebanon, Scott and Mascoutah.

“We had a credible report of a sighting just south of Mascoutah along the Kaskaskia River, and the last report was in Coulterville,” Schachner said.

Wildlife officials believe this bear is different from the one seen earlier in four southern Illinois counties — Pope, Saline, Williamson and Jackson — in July. A Kentucky wildlife official said the bear spotted in July likely swam across the Ohio River to enter Illinois because the Illinois sightings started right after the sightings in western Kentucky stopped.

It eventually was spotted in Brewer, Missouri.

The recent sightings, which are otherwise rare in Illinois, are almost certainly of young male bears in search of food and females, wildlife experts have said.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources told the BND last week there is no concerted effort to restore black bear populations in southern Illinois. A natural return is likely, however, given the state’s proximity to Missouri and Kentucky, which already support black bears, and the habitat offered by the Shawnee National Forest, according to a wildlife expert at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

“They’ve been telling us for about 10 years now to get ready because black bears are coming,” Schachner said.

If you see a black bear, the U.S. Forest Service offers these guidelines:

• Do not run. Remain calm, continue facing the bear and slowly back away.
• Keep children and pets close at hand.
• Never approach or corner a bear.
• Never offer food to a bear.
• Be aware of the presence of cubs and never come between a bear and its cubs.
• Fight back aggressively if a bear attacks you.

If you live an area with black bears, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers these tips:

• Secure food, garbage and recycling.
• Remove or limit use of bird feeders when bears are active.
• Avoid leaving pet food outdoors.
• Thoroughly clean and store grills and smokers after each use.
• Alert neighbors to bear activity.

This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 12:54 PM.