In the past few weeks, black bears have been seen in Versailles, Morehead and Berea. John Hast is the bear and elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He said bear sightings in cities do seem to be increasing in frequency.
“I think they're on the increase just because the kind of footprint of the bear population is expanding. So when you've got more cities that they're close to then, then the number of bears in town is going to is going to increase.”
Hast says for the past two decades, black bears in Kentucky have been wandering out of their traditional range during the summer months. He said the bear population is growing in some parts of the state, but they generally want nothing to do with people.
“The bears that come out into the Bluegrass are generally running for the next wood lot when they're seen – like the Versailles photo, that bear going up and over the fence, he was high tailing it out of there.”
Hast said tranquilizing bears during the summer months can be a death sentence due to the heat. He said feeding them is not only illegal, but also dangerous for bears who become accustomed to handouts and make themselves a nuisance.
