Bear
“A black bear near Summit Monument Park along Mississippi River Boulevard” was spotted by U of St.Thomas security appearing to head into the woods along the river. [Star Tribune, Paul Walsh, August 9, 2020].
“One bear spotted along Battle Creek on June 14 and another on June 18 just south on the southern edge of downtown.” [Star Tribune, Paul Walsh, August 9, 2020].
“Bear spotted outside St. Paul’s Union Depot.” [KARE 11, by Jeremiah Jacobsen & Dave Peterlinz; June 19, 2020]. Read Here.
Bear spotted in North St. Paul. Black bear was shot dead by a DNR officer, April 24, 2019. The bear was approximately two years old and weighed between 110-120 lbs. It was spotted in a tree by a neighbor. [Bear Shot, Killed In Twin Cities Suburb; by William Bornhoft. Patch (Mendota Heights), April 25, 2019].
DNR Develops Online App To Track Bear Sightings
“And if you see a bear, the DNR wants to know all about it. They have a new tool on their website. And when you click on it, it’ll ask you questions like where was the bear located? What was the bear doing? If it was eating, what was it eating? Did it have cubs? Since they launched the app, nearly 200 people have reported seeing bears in Minnesota. But what’s surprising is where they are seeing them. The map shows that black bears have been spotted as far south as Fillmore County on the Iowa border.” Read More.
Report a Bear Sighting to the Minnesota DNR.
Tiger
Tiger: “December 21, 1996/Brooklyn Park, Minnesota: Three pet-supply store workers were bitten or scratched by a 7-month-old tiger who had been brought to the store to have his picture taken. The three workers agreed to receive rabies shots.” [The Humane Society of the United States, Big Cat Incidents; 9-11-2012, p. 31].
Deer: A common sighting inside the metro area are the brown deer. A family of deer have made their home within the very urban confines of the Minneapolis Pioneer’s and Soldier’s Cemetery (Also known as Layman’s Cemetery) near Lake Street East and Cedar Avenue S. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Cougar
A cougar was found dead in Bloomington, Minnesota in September of 2020. The DNR has been skeptical for years of cougar sightings in the Bloomington area which borders with the Minnesota River Wildland Refuge on its south side. The large cat whose paw is about the size of your head was found dead near I-35W and I-494 and was probably hit by a motor vehicle. “Since 2004 and through the end of 2018, the DNR has tallied 31 verified cougar sightings in Minnesota.” [Cougar found dead in Bloomington, likely hit by vehicle. Star Tribune, Paul Walsh, September 30, 2020].
Alligator
In November of 2020, an alligator was shot by a hunter. It was three feet in length was discovered on a pond near East Bethel, Minnesota. [‘Holy cow, there’s an alligator!’ | Minnesota hunter shoots alligator during Deer Opener weekend. KARE11, Sharon Yoo, November 9, 2020]. Read More.
In October of 2019 a dead caiman (similar to a crocodile) was found on the shore of Prior Lake in the south Metro. [Prior Lake, Minn. family says they found alligator on lake shore. Fox9News, Hannah Flood, October 20, 2019]. Read More.