HANCOCK - It may seem that bird food wouldn't be enough to satisfy even a young black bear, but at this time of year it's one of the animals' favorite foods of opportunity.

On June 9, a yearling black bear was spotted on Summit Street in Hancock and it wandered around the city for about a week getting into trash bags and bird feeders.

Hancock Police Chief Mike Beaudoin said the last report of the bear had it wandering around Sylvan Estates subdivision off Campus Drive.

Beaudoin said bears usually wander into populated areas when they can't find their natural food.

"They're coming in because it's been a cold spring," he said.

Beaudoin said soon after the bear was spotted, an employee of the Baraga office of the Department of Natural Resources came to Hancock to see about the possibility of setting a trap to capture the bear and move it to an unpopulated area. He decided against it because if children played on the trap, they could be hurt.

"They're a little leery of putting it out," he said.

Doug Wagner, wildlife biologist and bear specialist from the DNR Crystal Falls office, said bears will wander far to search for food in the spring, but around the country, including in Michigan, they seem to be on the move more than usual.

"They're showing up in places they haven't been in a hundred years," Wagner said. "We have frequent sightings in Muskegon County."

It's also true that humans are moving into bear territory in much of the country, Wagner said, but that isn't happening in the Upper Peninsula.

"Our bear range is fully occupied (by bears) here," he said.

Wagner said the DNR is asking people to remove temptation by making certain not to leave out potential food sources for bears.

"If you don't want to see a bear, don't leave food where the bear can get it," he said. "There's not a lot of natural food (yet). I think in the next couple weeks things will change."

Once berries and other fruits are ripe, Wagner said bears should stop wandering into populated areas.

Wagner said black bears aren't big hunters, and usually won't go after anything larger than small game or very young animals, such as deer. They usually won't go after fish unless they're easy to catch. They will eat carrion.

Bird food is especially attractive to bears, particularly young bears, so Wagner said it is best not to hang feeders until the bears' natural food sources are more available in the summer. Constantly putting them up and taking them down probably won't work, either.

"Bears can come back," he said. "They'll remember where (the feeders) are."

Pet food should not be left outside, either, Wagner said, but if it is, it should be properly secured.

"You better get it in a container where they can't smell it," he said.

Wagner said this is mating season, and the sows usually push away the male yearlings, so they are the bears most people are seeing in their yards and neighborhoods now.

"Those bears are very visible," he said.

Wagner said only the DNR can trap bears, and they usually won't do that unless a bear is a danger to humans, or a recurring problem.

Brad Johnson, DNR wildlife technician at the Baraga office, said there haven't been calls to the DNR about the bear seen in Hancock in the last week or so, which means it may have moved back into the woods it came from.

The DNR doesn't like to set its bear traps in neighborhoods because they use a guillotine door, which could be a danger to children.

"The problem with the town bear (in Hancock) is finding a safe place to set those traps," he said.

A printed DNR statement about making areas bear-safe states it helps to make a lot of noise if a bear is seen in a yard, and Wagner said that does usually work.

"Bears will do anything in their power to avoid contact with humans," he said.

Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie @mininggazette.com.