By Bonnie Culverhouse
Minden Police received three phone calls Wednesday that might seem barely possible in the city limits, but investigation showed the reported black bear sightings were true.
MPD Chief Jared McIver said the bear was caught on a carport camera in the area of Marshall and Tillman streets.
“There’s a wooded section back there, and I feel like he went back in that area when it got dark,” McIver said. “He’s probably getting into people’s trash.”
McIver said he contacted Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) and pointed out the bear was inside the city limits, rather than out in the parish.
“I told them if I get one more call, I’m calling them again,” he said, around 9 p.m. Wednesday. “And I want it picked up. But we haven’t gotten any calls in the last 15 minutes.”
McIver, who retired from LDWF, said bears frequently travel.
“About a year after the flooding in 2015, we started seeing more bears,” he said. “When the rivers flooded, they were displaced. This time of year, hunting season is right around the corner and people are putting out corn. They love to raid a corn feeder.”
If anyone spots the bear, McIver warned against approaching it.
“Just call us,” he said. “Don’t try to scare it. Call us, and we will get somebody out there.”
Minden Police Department: 318-371-4226.
