MONTVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — It's not just more security cameras capturing their whereabouts; experts argue the black bear population in Ohio is growing.
"So there probably are more eyes on the ground, but also the bears are definitely increasing as well," Tory Westall said. "They're definitely on the rise. We just don't really know how many there are, what exactly they're doing and where they're living."
Westall is a doctoral student at the University of Dayton researching the distribution of the state-endangered black bear population in Ohio, their genetic makeup, their diet and how many bears Ohio can hold.
"It kind of helps us understand their movement across the landscape," she explained. "A lot of the sightings that we know of have been the same bear, but they just roam pretty far."
To do that, her team is trapping and collaring bears across the state.
Last month, researchers collared a 576-pound black bear in Ashtabula County. The bear's official designation is BBM04 — but Westall has a different name for him.
"I've nicknamed all my bears Italian food names, so the big bear up there was Mostaccioli," Westall smiled. "It started because my nephew was 4 when I started this project, and he asked if one of my bears could be named Spaghetti," she explained. "How do you tell a 4-year-old, no, you can't name one of my bears Spaghetti?"
She told News 5 that black bears tend to favor eastern Ohio, specifically Ashtabula and Geauga counties, because there's a lot more forest and suitable area for black bears.
Beginning in 2022, Ohio saw an increase in the number of black bear sightings.
Bears have also been spotted in suburban areas, including a recent sighting in Garfield Heights.
So what should you do if you see a black bear?
"So black bears, it's important to remember they are usually more afraid of you than you are of them," Westall said.
If you see a bear, Westall advises making yourself appear large, yelling and making noise to scare it away. Westall also stressed the importance of not feeding bears.
"Don't put out food if you know they're there because they'll keep coming back to food," Westall said.
If you spot a bear, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources asks that you report it through its wildlife reporting system so researchers can track new bears and monitor the movements of bears already being studied.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
