hummingbird feeder : Two bears roam Lino Lakes yards

Updated: 05/26/2006 08:56:05 PM

A pair of bears surprised some Lino Lakes homeowners Friday afternoon, as they roamed around yards near Otter Lake.

The bears were not aggressive, but did seem interested in some bird feeders.

"He broke my hummingbird feeder, then he went and sat on my flowers, then he tried to climb a tree," says Linda Elliot.

Elliot and other neighbors weren’t entirely upset about the bears’ presence, saying the bear in her yard “was cute.”

Lino Lakes police say the bears may have moved on.

One homeowner says a bear statue may have frightened one of them away.

Police say people should be more cautious of the animals than curious.

"If you see the bear, don't approach it," says Sgt. Bill Hammes of the Lino Lakes Police Department. “Certainly don't get between the mother and its cub, because that's when the mother will get very aggressive."

Bear sightings in the Twin Cities have doubled in recent years.

Officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources estimate that 22,00 black bears live in the state.