Are Grizzly Bears Moving Into North Dakota?!

According to Cowboy State Daily, Prairie Grizzlies have been pushing their way east for some time now, which raises a few questions.

Lions? - No... Tigers? -No... Bears? -Yes!

Currently, we don't have any bears in North Dakota, but that wasn't always the case. As a matter of fact, grizzly bears were spotted in North Dakota all the way back in the 1800s.

According to PrairiePublic.org, Lewis and Clark documented seeing them. It was actually the first animal they observed in the state of North Dakota.

It was a wounded grizzly bear they spotted just south of Bismarck-Mandan.

The source also claims that Lewis and Clark weren't the only ones who documented the animals' presence in the area. In the same time period, Alexander Henry's journals indicated he saw bears in our state. They were noted to be most common in the Devils Lake area and Pembina Hills.

Are Grizzlies Coming Back?

According to Cowboy State Daily, any/all bears have long vacated the state in the 1800s. They were pushed west after more people settled in the prairies.

Now, it looks like they are making their way back east. According to the source, a similar push is now leading the bears back east.

So to answer the question very simply, YES, that very well could happen.

Can They Survive Here?

According to the source, some parts of North Dakota are sustainable habitats for bears. We have deer and elk that the animals could dine on.

Keep your eyes open for bear migration; you never know!