A black bear spent nearly a full day perched in a neighborhood tree near Hastings Middle School last week, drawing attention from residents, school officials, and wildlife officers, and creating a steady buzz across local social media.
The young bear settled into an evergreen tree behind a garage near the corner of Oak Street and 12th Street West early on April 15. It remained there into the morning of April 16, within sight of the Hastings Family Aquatic Center and close to nearby schools, prompting monitoring by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources throughout its stay.
City officials alerted residents through a public message, noting that the animal was being watched carefully and urging people to give it space.
“A black bear has been located within the city limits. Black bears are generally docile unless provoked and will naturally move along when given time and space. The MN Department of Natural Resources DNR is monitoring the bear.”
The post also included several reminders intended to reduce the chance of attracting wildlife into neighborhoods. Officials advised residents to secure food sources and avoid approaching the animal while it remained in town.
Wildlife experts said the bear’s appearance was not unusual for this time of year. As temperatures rise in spring, bears become more active and begin searching widely for food after the winter months.
DNR Conservation Officer Steve Chihak said the bear appeared to be young and focused mainly on finding easy calories.
“Obviously, when the temperature comes up, it's not like they're, you know, they've probably been up and about for the last two weeks, and their primary focus right now is this one looks actually pretty good, size. It was a video of it this morning, around 6 a.m. and it looked to probably be about a two-year-old male, and their primary focus right now is food.”
Chihak explained that bears often look for quick, reliable sources of nutrition in residential areas, especially early in the season.
“So, the easiest way they can get food, that's their goal. If they don't want to expend a lot of energy. They want to just pack on them. And where are you going to find that? You're going to find bird feeders, so that's high carb foods, seeds, nuts, things like that. They're going to hit those people that put out dog food or cat food. That's an easy food source, and then garbage.”
He added that young bears sometimes learn these habits from their mothers, which can bring them closer to neighborhoods than people expect.
“So, this is probably a bear that's learned that behavior, because most bears are going to stay away from humans.”
While the bear’s presence sparked curiosity among residents, conservation officials stressed that keeping distance was the safest response for both people and the animal.
“The primary concern right now is to stay away. Stay away. I know it's a novelty. Everybody likes to see it. They're beautiful animals. They're really cool animals. I get it, but to be safe, for this animal, to feel safe, to come down and move on, we want people to stay away from the area.”
Officials also encouraged residents to temporarily remove or secure food sources that could attract wildlife overnight.
“Bringing your bird feeders at night, is what we tell people do, and then put them out in the day. That way, when the bears are out at night, they don't find the food, they'll move on. Don't feed your pets outside. That's another important thing.”
Garbage storage can also make a difference, Chihak said, especially in communities not designed with bear resistant containers.
“I would say to pull them into the garage, I know a lot of people don't like to do that with smells and things like that, but that would be an important or an effective way to prevent that is pull those into the garage in the in the nighttime.”
The bear appeared to choose the shaded tree as a daytime resting spot, which wildlife officials said is typical behavior when temperatures rise. The goal, they said, was to allow the animal to leave on its own once nightfall returned and activity in the area slowed.
“So that's the ideal thing that we want to happen, is that it comes down on its own, and then it leaves the area.”
Authorities also coordinated with local schools and police during the incident to help manage safety and communication while the bear remained nearby.
Chihak noted that large crowds gathering near the tree could create unnecessary risk and stress for the animal.
“What we don't want is crowds to show up. The bear gets nervous.”
He said that unexpected encounters between people and wildlife can lead to outcomes no one wants.
“I don't believe the bear will come down if there's a crowd. What I do believe is that we could have an unintended encounter when it does come down and there are people around, maybe not here, maybe it moves to a particular area, then runs into somebody, likely they're going to just run away. But we don't want a situation where I have to intervene, or the local PD has to intervene, because in those situations, wildlife always loses.”
Despite the unusual visit, officials encouraged residents to appreciate the rare sight while respecting the animal’s space.
“Be and be thankful that we have critters like that in the area, so you do have opportunities to see those things. Really, they're magical creatures. They really are.”
While conservation officers kept watch and residents followed updates, local businesses found a lighthearted way to join the moment. Dozens of business owners created playful images imagining the bear stopping in to visit, shop, or even work at their storefronts, sharing the pictures online as the sighting became the talk of the town. The posts added a sense of community fun to an otherwise unusual wildlife encounter, giving neighbors something to smile about while they waited for the young bear to quietly move along.
By early morning on April 16, the expectation remained that the bear would move along on its own once conditions were right, ending a brief but memorable visit that had neighbors watching closely and sharing updates across the community.