A first for St. Paul's Union Depot: Black bear on premises

A black bear — yes, a black bear — wandered into the Union Depot parking ramp in downtown St. Paul early Thursday and milled around for about an hour.

The bear didn't cause any trouble, Union Depot marketing manager Lindsay Boyd said. Security found the bear around 1 a.m. Thursday and at one point drove in front of it to get a closer look.

"It was a surprise for us," Boyd said. "We've never seen a bear on our property before."

Security dialed 911 and animal control, which urged them to cover their garbage cans and not to feed the bear, Boyd said.

St. Paul police were not involved in responding to the bear sighting and had heard of no more sightings as of Friday evening, spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster said.

"I got nothing," he said.

Black bears typically try to avoid people but sometimes encounter them while breaking into garbage cans or bird feeders, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In the event of a face-to-snout encounter, don't panic, the DNR says.

Turn around and walk away slowly.

Do not run.

Bears will often flee. But if one approaches, "act boldly" by yelling or throwing things at it, the DNR says.

Ryan Faircloth