Bear Sightings
ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced an increase in black bear sightings being reported across the state.
Dillon State Park Naturalist Michael Durst says Eastern Ohio is heavily forested and bear sightings are nothing new but they are becoming more common.
“2025 had the most amount of bear sightings recorded since they started doing that in 1993,” Durst said. “So we’ve definitely been seeing more, more sightings both confirmed and unconfirmed. We’re probably looking at larger growing populations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and they’re slowly starting to move this way.”
Durst says sightings increase this time of year as young males can travel more than 200 miles looking for new territory to settle into.
“As far as the sightings themselves, they come from a variety of sources,” Durst said. “Trail cams have certainly seen an uptick in popularity and we’ve got a lot more variety in wildlife viewing opportunities through what’s been showing up on trail cams. Certainly there are some people who’s spotting live bears too. Taking photos, videos when they can. Damage that has happened from bears, you know signs of them. They will certainly get into… you know, any available food sources that are there, unsecured trash, bird feeders, pet food, dirty grills, all of that are fine pickings for bears. Even gardens and things like that. They’re highly opportunistic omnivores.”
Durst says bears are not usually confrontational but if you encounter a bear, maintain plenty of distance and don’t turn your back and run because it might encourage it to chase. He added that bears are usually on the move and that sightings can be a majestic and amazing experience. But if you do have problems with bears, you can call 1-800-WILDLIFE.
- 2023: 260 sightings in 49 counties
- 2024: 370 sightings in 55 counties
- 2025: 537 sightings in 69 counties
