Bear Spotted For First Time In 140 Years. And Now They're Kicking Him Out.

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Last month, a black bear made history by wandering into Indiana, a state the species hasn't called home in 140 years. But if wildlife officials have their way, bears will never be seen there again.

In early June, folks in the area began reporting that they'd seen a creature no one alive today had ever come across in the wild (at least in Indiana): a lone black bear. The animal, once found in forests throughout North America, is believed to have crossed the state's border for the first time since being driven out in the 1870s.

"That was the most graceful - he was the most graceful thing I've ever seen," one resident told FOX 32 News. "I've been hoping to see that bear for a month."

Budd Veverka, from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), agreed.

"He's now becoming a bit of a problem bear. He'll come up on porches, close to houses, sometimes looking in windows, and scare people a little bit more," Veverka told the Associated Press. "He's now kind of expecting things from people."

The DNR soon hatched a plan for the newly arrived bear: Evict him.

It's been just over a month since the bear was first spotted after more than a century away, but now Indiana intends to give the bear the boot once again. Wildlife officials have set out two "barrel traps" to capture the animal, after which they say they will drive him across the border to a wooded area in Michigan.

The bear hasn't been quick to relinquish his reclaimed stomping grounds, however. A representative from the Indiana DNR confirmed to The Dodo that, as of Tuesday evening, the bear has yet to be captured.