ST. CLOUD -- A bear that had been hanging out in a southeast St. Cloud neighborhood has been put down by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Spokesman Steve Carroll says a conservation officer was called to the neighborhood because the bear had been there for an extended period of time and was becoming more aggressive and bold.

Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
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After attempts to chase the bear out of the neighborhood were unsuccessful, the bear was put down and the meat was donated to a family to eat.

Residents started to report the sightings of the year-old male bear on Wednesday of last week in the Woodland Road area, with a number of other sightings being reported for the next several days through the weekend.

The DNR says it does not relocate problem bears. This practice ended in 2000 because trapping and moving bears does not resolve the underlying problem, which is the presence of attractive food sources provided by people. Removing and securing attractants is much more effective at reducing bear problems than trapping and moving bears. Moving a problem bear can cause problems elsewhere because the bear is forced to find food in a new area, and often the easiest source of food in a foreign environment for a bear is birdseed or trash.

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The DNR says it’s normal to be somewhat alarmed if you come face-to-face with a black bear. But the reality is that black bears are rarely aggressive. Actual attacks by black bears are rare.

According to the Minnesota DNR's website, black bears are found mainly in the northern third of the state, but they've been migrating further south in recent years.

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