Bear Sighting at Twin Creek MetroPark!

Potential Bear Scat

Exciting news over the weekend.  A black bear was observed at Twin Creek MetroPark.  Unfortunately it sounds like it scared a park visitor, but that kind of figures since bears have not been part of the local fauna for a while.  An interesting side note, I photographed some scat that looked like bear poo along Twin Creek about a mile from the recent sighting.  Here is a pic of the poo.

Apparently sightings like this in bear-less areas are usually of young males that are prone to wander.  A few years ago we had a wandering bear that many people saw at Germantown MetroPark.  However, I don't think it is totally random that both have turned up in the Twin Valley.

Protected Lands in Twin Valley

Larry Frimerman, Director of Three Valley Conservation Trust  on  a protected forest tract in the Twin Valley

The "Twin Valley", for us MetroParkers, is the combined natural assets of Germantown MetroPark, Twin Creek Corridor, and Upper Twin Conservation Areas.  It also includes lands protected by the Three Valley Conservation Trust in Preble County, the Miami Conservancy District, and the Warren County Park District.  Together over 7,000 acres of land are protected, much of it forested.  Thanks to continuous efforts by these partners over the last 40 years they are almost completely connected together along this beautiful stream.  This has created an invitation to wildlife to recolonize the land.  I don't doubt that this is why cool stuff always turns up in the Twin Valley.  In addition to this bear, the valley is home to wild turkey, river otter, bobcat, beaver, and many species of birds not found in other parks.

The takeaway here is that the "macro" end of conservation is important to larger wildlife that needs room to stretch their legs, while the "micro" end stresses the need to protect and restore the forest quilt.