TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Photos circulating online recently have people wondering, what are the odds of seeing something as big as a black bear, or even a cub, in northeast Kansas?<\/p>\n
A picture taken by a Shawnee Heights resident this past Saturday in their driveway quickly gained attention throughout northeast Kansas. <\/p>\n
Google images told them it was likely a black bear. What are the odds of that? We asked the zoo\u2019s bear expert, and he said, \u201cAlmost zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m leaning more towards coyote,\u201d Said Northern Carnivore Keeper Tracey Henderson from the Topeka Zoo. \u201cI could see more understandably by the Colorado border, but I would say absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack bears, for example, will be significantly larger,\u201d said Zoo Conservation Director Dennis Dinwiddie. \u201cEven the cubs would be significantly larger than that photograph. They can be up to several hundred pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Matt Peek, a wildlife biologist with the Kansas Wildlife and Parks department, after reviewing the photo, said, \u201cThis is a raccoon.\u201d He went on to say it was possibly sick, but the picture was inconclusive. <\/p>\n
Was a black bear currently roaming around Shawnee County? Not likely. But let\u2019s take a look at the current range of the North American black bear. If you take a look right here at Kansas, the closest place you will find a black bear full-time is between Missouri and Arkansas. <\/p>\n
Henderson added, \u201cWe don\u2019t have black bears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last confirmed sighting of a black bear in Kansas was in 2021,\u201d concluded Dinwiddie. <\/p>\n
Even that was in southern Kansas.<\/p>\n
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