Why are there so many black bear sightings in West Michigan?

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]A bear had everybody talking this weekend after making a few high profile appearances in the Coopersville area on Saturday. Ottawa County deputies responded for safety reasons, but they found the black bear cub was not being aggressive or trying to approach people.

[00:00:15]13 On Your Side's Michael Martin was in Coopersville. He joins us now with that story. Michael.

[00:00:20]>> Juliette, we had reports of a bear roaming a neighborhood in Georgetown Township back in April. Another bear spotted in a tree over in Muskegon that same month. Now, a black bear cub spotted by a handful of people running near businesses. The sheriff's office tells me they're pretty sure he was actually headed to a nearby landfill just looking for a tasty treat.

[00:00:41]>> It took me a like a couple seconds to realize what was happening.

[00:00:45]>> Saturday, just before 3:00 p.m., Amber Wellman is closing up shop at Social Nutrition in Coopersville.

[00:00:52]>> like a big dog at first, and it was running back and forth across the street like it wanted to cross.

[00:00:57]>> Something massive is on the move just outside.

[00:01:01]>> And then I realized that it was a bear, and I was like, "Oh my gosh."

[00:01:06]>> There he is, just a black bear cub looking for a snack.

[00:01:12]>> There's a bear.

[00:01:14]There's a bear.

[00:01:15]>> Amber, not the only person to see him.

[00:01:18]>> The bear was just running around and wasn't approaching anybody, wasn't being aggressive.

[00:01:22]>> After crossing Randall Street, Amber says the little guy made his way through this parking lot.

[00:01:28]>> It's kind of just like a reality check like, you know, they can come around at any point now.

[00:01:33]>> Before peeking into a few shop windows.

[00:01:36]>> We don't have these very often, uh but typically the bears are going looking for food uh or foraging around and that type of thing and and that may bring them in contact with people.

[00:01:44]>> After climbing a tree in the area Saturday afternoon, the cub ran off.

[00:01:49]>> We have seen an increase in the bear population over the last decade and a half.

[00:01:54]>> As Rachel Lincoln with the DNR explains, it's not unexpected to see bears this far south in Michigan, especially during this time of the year.

[00:02:02]>> A lot of younger bears, especially young male bears, are looking for a new home range and a new mate, and so they start walking south and they'll keep going until they hit a place where there's too many people or too many buildings.

[00:02:17]>> Sadly, the cub was hit and killed while crossing a nearby highway late Saturday.

[00:02:22]>> And our thought is that he was trying to make his way to the landfill at some point or had been at the landfill looking for something to eat.

[00:02:31]>> Now, if you happen to come across a black bear yourself, the DNR suggests you don't go anywhere near them. While black bears do prefer isolation and they do tend to immediately flee at the sight of humans, a crowd can easily overwhelm them. If you have bears stopping by your bird feeders, temporarily remove them.

[00:02:50]They should stop visiting soon. Michael Martin, 13 on your side.