KERKHOVEN -- Farmers are used to chasing up deer and other wildlife as they combine their corn, but Michael Pessmore was unprepared for what he saw Tuesday in his field south of Kerkhoven.
A black bear suddenly took flight as Pessmore and his machine devoured the bruin's cover and, presumably, his dinner.
Pessmore was harvesting a field about 2 p.m. some four miles south of Kerkhoven when he chased up the bear.
It's not the only report of a black bear in that area. Edward Picht, conservation officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, had received a report earlier from a farmer who believed he saw a black bear in a cornfield near Minnesota Highway 40 and Chippewa County Road 2.
There are usually reports every fall of the occasional northwoods animals roaming the prairies, and this year is no exception. Picht said there have been sightings of a moose between Ortonville and Morris, and of another moose south of Ivanhoe.
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A hunter in Lac qui Parle County recently shot an elk he mistook for a deer, Picht said.
It is illegal to shoot elk, bear or moose that happen to wander through the area. The Lac qui Parle County hunter will likely be required to make $1,000 restitution for the elk, and faces possible criminal charges and fines. The restitution for moose is also $1,000. It is $400 for black bear, Picht added.
The DNR does not take action against black bears that roam through the area unless there are reports of problems. They are usually younger males who wander away from their home range. They tend to make their way back as winter approaches, Picht said.
