What in the world is going on?

We’ve got a real, live bear wandering northern Indiana and gray wolves have moved into Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

And then last week, the Michigan DNR put out a report that a bear attacked a hunter in ground blind just north of Mt. Pleasant.

Get used to it, says Indiana wildlife biologist Budd Veverka, Indiana’s newly appointed bear biologist. Wildlife is expanding and adapting.

“This won’t be the last bear we see in Indiana,” insisted the biologist who has studied bears since he was 14 years old. “It will take a few years, but they’re going to expand their range into Indiana.”

If you find it hard to believe, remember that no more than 40 years ago it was a rarity to see a deer or a coyote in Indiana. Now they are nearly as common as ground hogs.

“Habitat is maturing and a lot of animals that were knocked back years ago are becoming more prevalent and adapting to urban areas,” Veverka said. “Deer, bears and a lot of these other larger animals are edge species, meaning they like edges of woodlands. We have that here.”

The biologist said dwindling hunting pressure over the past few decades is another factor.

“Let’s face it – there are fewer hunters and trappers out there to keep the animals in check,” he said. “Hunters have controlled wildlife for generations. Now it’s harder to do that.”

Bears are native to this region but went extinct for 100 years. However, nearby states report growing populations and Michigan’s population is moving southward from the UP and northern Lower Peninsula where bears are common.

It’s been more than a month since Indiana biologists received sightings of the bear that created quite a bit of excitement around South Bend and Michigan City this summer. The DNR had him trapped in Michigan City, but the ornery critter ripped up the trap and escaped.

It’s possible he’s still around, which is why they scheduled educational programs for both communities this week.

“We’re going to tell people how to be bear smart,” said Veverka. “We want the bear healthy and people to be safe, and coexist.”

The elusive bear is a young male that Veverka estimates between 2 and 3 years old. He’s of breeding age and probably looking for a girlfriend. It’s believed he ventured out of the Muskegon, Mich. looking to homestead elsewhere.

“It’s not uncommon for young male bears to leave an area that contains older, dominant males that fight them over a female,” the biologist explained.

Now, black bears generally don’t feast on humans, but they can become a nuisance in urban areas. They typically eat berries, grasses, acorns and love bee and wasp hives. They’ll take down a fawn, too, but this bear has shown a fondness for bird feeders hanging in neighborhoods.

“People refill bird feeders and the bear comes back,” said Veverka. “We know of one guy in Michigan City who had his feeder knocked down five times by the bear.”

That same bear has destroyed outdoor grills, raided garbage cans, visited a honey farm and ate a bug zapper.

Honest.

If you can dine in a hive of angry bees, a little ol’ bug zapper isn’t going to bother you.

“He must have figured the dead bugs were cooked protein,” joked Ververka.