'Huge bear' caught on camera in St. Louis Park yard

"We just had a huge bear wander through the yard," Judy Houseman wrote on NextDoor under a 34-second video showing a black bear wandering by her home in St. Louis Park. 

The video was taken in the Stanlen Road area, which is located in the Cedar Manor neighborhood about a mile south of where Hwy. 169 meets Interstate 394. 

"We called the police and spoke to DNR. They asked that we caution neighbors to put garbage cans in the garage and put any bird feeders away," Houseman wrote. 

A commenter who lives in the Crestview neighborhood near Hwy. 169, just south of the Cedar Manor area, wrote about two broken bird feeder poles in their yard. They added added that they were told by staff at a local Wild Birds Unlimited store there had been others in the area reporting broken bird feeder poles. 

As uncommon as a bear sighting in St. Louis Park seems, it's one of dozens in the metro this spring. Most of them have been in the northern suburbs, but there have been numerous sightings in St. Louis Park, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. 

You can view the DNR's interactive bear sighting map here. 

The DNR says the black bear range has slowly been expanding south and west. Anyone who spots a bear is encouraged to report it to the DNR.