Lori Pepka had just finished pulling ticks off her mother’s dog following a walk in Raccoon Creek State Park early Monday evening when she saw something she had never seen before in the Beaver County park: a black bear.
Not only that, it was swimming in Raccoon Lake.
“My heart started racing and when I turned around the car, I noticed the bear was in the water,” said Pepka of Robinson, Allegheny County. “I didn’t expect him to do that.”
Pepka took out her cellphone and began recording. She later submitted the footage to park officials. Pepka is a board member of the Friends of Raccoon Creek State Park.
The bear’s presence in the park, let alone the fact that it was swimming, is not as rare as it sounds.
Raccoon Lake’s water temperature is in the high 40s to low 50s, according to park operations manager Albert Wasilewski.
The cold water didn’t bother the bear because of its fur and a layer of fat accumulated for hibernation, said Matt Kramer, a state game warden with the Pennsylvania Game Commission who covers southern Beaver County.
“As you can see in the video, he had no problem getting across the lake,” Kramer said.
Wasilewski estimated after watching the video that the bear, larger than a yearling, swam 50 to 75 yards.
Monday’s bear sighting was one of about five reported in Beaver County over the past month, according to Kramer.
Although bears typically hibernate this time of year, males will amble out of their dens looking for food when it is available, he said.
The warm temperatures and availability of food such as acorns and grain on local farms is enough for the bears to be out and about, Kramer said.
Another factor for the recent bear sightings is the state’s increasing bear population, Kramer added. There were about 15,000 black bears in the state following hunting season last year, according to the Game Commission estimates.
Bears are not known to live in Raccoon Creek State Park, according to Wasilewski. He recalled hearing of only a handful or so during his 20 years working at the park.
There are other wooded areas outside the park where bears could live. The bruin spotted Monday was likely just passing through, Wasilewski said.
