Video: Bear, 3 cubs frequenting Oak Grove, Minn. area

OAK GROVE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office has now received several reports of a black bear and her three cubs who have been frequenting the city of Oak Grove, Minnesota over the past several weeks. 

FOX 9 viewers have sent in photos and videos of the bears in the area of Lake George Regional Park and Refuge Golf Course. 

Sgt. Derek Peters said the sheriff's office contacted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources about the bears and both agencies are monitoring them. There have been no reports of the bears causing issues or damage, he said. 

Peters said they get reports of bears in the area almost every year around this time. Finding black bears in the Twin Cities metro and southern Minnesota is becoming more and more common as the bears’ range continues to expand south. 

Josh Fischer said bears have actually shown up on the golf course more than once.

"They look certainly really cute, but I don’t think that you want to get in between them," he said. "I’ve been here at the golf course for about 10 years. We’ve seen probably 3 or 4 in that 10-year span; this is the first time that we’ve seen a mother bear with cubs, so it’s kind of interesting."

Residents are advised, as always, to take precautions to avoid conflict with bears by removing food sources from their yards, such as bird feeders, dog and cat food, and unsecured garbage. 

"We usually advise people to do what they can to live in harmony with the animals," Peters said.