DNR: ‘Unlikely’ that mark found in Washington was left by bear

WASHINGTON — A Department of Natural Resources expert said it was unlikely but not impossible that a supposed animal track found in Washington was left by a bear.

Ann Willers said her son found the mark on the ground along Highway 1, near the EBD grain elevator driveway in late January, but didn’t know how old the print was.

While it’s theoretically possible that Willers stumbled upon a black bear track, Iowa DNR Furbearer and Wetland Biologist Vince Evelsizer said that was unlikely given a lack of visible paw outlines and unusually wide spacing of what appears to be claw marks.

“We haven’t had any (bears) in the Washington County area lately, but bears are capable of moving around,” Evelsizer said. “It's not likely to be a bear, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, either … it looks like claw marks, but it’s hard to tell. There’s a lot of freezing and thawing going on right now in the landscape, it can make the ground shift a little bit, it’s just hard to tell.”

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A map in the DNR’s latest annual large carnivores report said no bears have been spotted in Washington County since 1965. One was spotted in Mahaska County in 2017, however, about 60 miles to the west, and in 2008, black bear sightings were reported in Johnson and Davis counties just a week apart according to another DNR document published in 2014.

Bear sightings are usually easy enough to verify, according to the large carnivores report, which said the animals were fairly common in Iowa two centuries ago, but are now exceedingly rare due to mass exterminations when the land was first settled.

“Black bear sightings are usually more reliable than mountain lion/cougar sightings because they are very distinct in appearance and do not necessarily flee when sighted,” the report said. “Also bear tracks are very distinct, and they are not readily mistaken for other animals.”

Evelsizer added that the lack of bear reports in Southeast Iowa this year further informed his assessment that the markings were probably not left by a wandering black bear.

“If it did turn out to be tracks from a bear, there’s a pretty good chance that the bear would be seen by people at some point here, to help verify it,” he said. “Or there’d be trail camera photos of the bear, if there is one around there. But for now, it’s hard to tell what made these marks.”

The Union was unable to verify the size and location of the alleged animal track before it was covered by snow on Friday morning, but Washington County Conservation Director Zach Rozmus said he’d received multiple reports of the mark in recent weeks.

Rozmus agreed that the mark was “definitely inconclusive,” adding, “I don’t believe there's any safety concerns.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com