KWWL.com - News & Weather for Waterloo, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, Iowa | Black bear seen near Bellevue

Black bear seen near Bellevue

BELLEVUE (KWWL) -- Eastern Iowa has bear mania. For the past week, reports of a 400 pound black bear surfaced in six area counties. The DNR reports, it started June 6th, when the bear was seen north of Waukon. It headed west into Winneshiek County, from there Castalia.

We received pictures from Edgewood, then this weekend, bear sightings in Dubuque County, near Bellevue and Cascade. In eight days, it covered about 150 miles.

"He was set back on his hind legs kind of learning up against a tree," said Stacy Kettmann of Bellevue.

It's the talk of the town in Bellevue.

"It was saturday night and we got a call that a bear was spotted 3 miles west of Bellevue," said Kettmann.

A black bear, thought to be the same black bear spotted a few days earlier in Allmakee County.

"It's been seen in carious places and obviously moving and it's not taking it's time. It goes up into a tree and sleeps when people start bothering it. It'll come down at night and take off then," said Wayne Buchholtz, DNR Park Ranger.

The bear was spotted below a tree off Bellevue-Cascade road. And witnesses say it spent an hour, hour and a half watching people as they stopped to take pictures of over unique sight.

"A big black bear with a brown nose, sitting underneath a no hunting sign," said Kettmann.

Once it got tired of that, it ran off into the fields and out of site, 21 miles later it was discovered near Clinton. DNR officials say this bear isn't harmful, if left alone. It's not be confused with a grizzle bear. They say all he's looking for is love - and a place to call his own.

"It seems to be tolerating people but nobody has done anything to harm it," said Buchholtz.

As for the people of Bellevue: this is a sight they'll never forget.

"It doesn't happen often so it was great that we were able to be there to witness it there," said Kettmann.

Just long enough to get a glimpse, before this black bear moves to it's next tree and attracts a new audience.