Coyotes and deer and bears, oh my! If you feel like you’ve been seeing more wildlife lately in the area, in parking lots, and near public roads, you can’t be fooled. According to Tim Lyon, a wildlife technician at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) customer service center in Traverse City, there is a definite upward trend in wildlife migrating to urban areas in northern Michigan. It’s a result caused by a variety of factors, from habitat destruction to the decline in hunting interest across the state.
One of Traverse City’s most exciting recent animal stories began last fall when customers and staff at Meijer in west Traverse City reported sightings of an adult male black bear prowling the parking lot. The same bear has been spotted in the Grand Traverse Commons near Great Wolf Lodge, in the Grand Traverse Memorial Gardens Cemetery on Veterans Drive, and in various other locations west of the city. The bear made a name for itself by knocking over dumpsters and trash cans, stealing birdhouses from residential yards, and more.
DNR officials finally managed to capture “the Meijer bear” (as Lyon calls it) last spring and move the animal to another part of the state. Undeterred, the bear found its way back to Traverse City.
“We caught and moved the Meijer bear this spring,” says Lyon. “Our protocol says we must have it at least 60 miles away, so we did it. We brought it to the east side of the state. But within a couple of weeks it came back to Traverse City. Now it’s over on the west side of Benzie County and headed south. So that’s a long range. That’s 90-100 miles he covered in 3-4 weeks. “
In addition to the bear’s clear predilection for its northern Michigan home, Lyon has another concern: reproduction. The Meijer bear, Lyon explains, is a “big boar” and “probably the king of the woods when it comes to bears in our region”. If that is the case, the Meijer bear will likely leave many offspring on its (far-reaching) path. That means more bears in northern Michigan – and more work for the local DNR office.
“I think much of the territory that it covered has spawned more bears in the landscape,” says Lyon. “Because we’ve been on the phone a lot lately. I probably have between 3 and 10 phone calls a day about bears. There are a lot of sows running around with cubs and I would assume he is the father of many of those cubs.
These smaller bears have been spotted repeatedly in various parts of Traverse City, including numerous sightings on the east side, near the Holiday Hills neighborhood and the VASA Trail.
The good news, says Lyon, is that these bears – even the “king of the woods”, the Meijer bear – are not the extremely dangerous predators known as the species like kodiaks, grizzlies, or even brown bears.
“Black bears are not an aggressive species,” explains Lyon. “You’d have to go back centuries to find a time when a black bear in Michigan killed someone. We are not at the top of their food chain. When it really counts, they are vegetarian. They are “opportunistic carnivores,” as I like to put it. If they trip over a carcass, will they use up some of it? Yes they will. But they do not actively hunt deer, fawns, cattle or their children. Most of their diet, I would say 80 percent, is vegetarian. “
Still, there are risks. One fear is that more bears will do, as the Meijer bear did, and increasingly migrate to urban or residential areas to use food sources such as birdhouses and dumpsters – potentially causing property damage in the process. Another is that bears will lead to an increase in car-to-animal accidents in the region – although Lyon notes that at least the Meijer bear learned to let traffic pass before crossing streets.
Ultimately, however, according to Lyon, people will mainly have to get used to a little more wildlife activity in their area, especially as Traverse City continues to grow and open up more areas that were previously used as habitats for animals. In fact, these habitat encroachments have resulted in a surge in calls to Traverse City’s DNR service center, with callers reporting problems with everything from deer to raccoons to foxes and coyotes.
Lyon’s advice? Become aware of smart wildlife etiquette. Drive with extra caution and always keep an eye out for deer. Avoid leaving bird feeders outside in the late spring, summer, and early autumn months when there is plenty of natural food for birds and these feeders are more likely to act as attractants for bears or other animals. Also on garbage day, wait until morning to roll your garbage bins outside so their smells don’t attract bears, raccoons, or other hungry animals. Use caution when walking your dogs and cats off a leash, especially in the evenings when coyotes like to attract their prey. After all, when you come face to face with a bear, you know what to do.
“When you run into a bear [in the woods] don’t run away, ”says Lyon. “If you run away from it, especially in the dark, it will assume that it doesn’t know exactly what you are. And then there is the possibility that it may come and jump on you or go after you. What you should do is look him straight up and walk towards him, raise your hands and scream and scream as loudly as you can. It will recognize that you are human and that it should flee. “
Lyon also points to hunting and trapping as possible strategies to correct the rapidly increasing wildlife populations in Michigan – particularly deer and fur-bearers such as coyotes, foxes, raccoons, beavers, and bobcats. Hunting in the state has declined so much in recent years that the DNR has even changed its deer hunting regulations for 2021 to remove barriers to participation in the hunt.
“These populations are growing because we have fewer hunters and trappers in the landscape,” says Lyon. “We have a difficult problem recruiting and retaining younger employees [to hunt]. The hunt is not passed on to the next generation. So we need teachers and mentors to show the next generation that hunting is important for Michigan’s future. “
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