{"id":680101,"date":"2026-06-02T16:01:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/680101\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:01:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:01:30","slug":"slinger-woman-awakes-to-bear-strolling-through-her-yard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/680101\/","title":{"rendered":"Slinger woman awakes to bear strolling through her yard"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 2, 2026<\/a> \u2013 Slinger, Wi<\/a> \u2013 An exciting way to start a Tuesday for Holly Nowak of Slinger. \u201cI was walking out of my bedroom and past the patio door when I saw something moving,\u201d she said. It was a black bear strolling through her backyard. The encounter happened around 5:41 a.m. near Nordic Drive, just east of the wooded area surrounding the Slinger water tower.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly had to think for a second, where am I?\u201d said Nowak. \u201cBecause we went to Tennessee a few months ago and I went there honestly wanting to see bears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the surprise wore off, excitement quickly took over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got really excited because I love animals,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to get outside and watch it and take a video.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowak watched as the bear calmly wandered along the tree line behind several condominium units.<\/p>\n

\"ear\"Photo courtesy Holly Nowak<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bear was just strolling along very peaceful,\u201d she said. \u201cI tried making some noise for it to stop and look a little bit, but it didn\u2019t. It just kept walking right along all the tree line and going down all the perimeters of all of our backyards.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although thrilled by the sighting, Nowak admitted she was somewhat nervous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping to see it again, a little scared to take the dog outside,\u201d she said. \u201cBut yeah, I was very excited. My heart is still pounding. I\u2019m definitely more worked up this morning going off to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowak said she has lived in Slinger her entire life and has never seen a black bear in her backyard before.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFirst time. First time,\u201d she said. \u201cI just moved to this condo in February, but I lived in other areas. I grew up in Slinger.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recalled her mother, who also lives in Slinger, often thought a bear might someday appear nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom said that she always thought she would see a bear and she would always tell people, and people always thought she was crazy,\u201d Nowak said. \u201cShe never did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bear appeared to emerge from a heavily wooded hillside near the water tower and traveled behind the condominium complex, which borders a wooded corridor near the Slinger Middle School.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a big hill, like a huge hill, and all woods right behind us,\u201d said Nowak. \u201cIt came from one end and did the whole perimeter of all of our backyards.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some residents keep bird feeders on their decks, Nowak said there was no obvious food source attracting the animal.<\/p>\n

The sighting comes as black bear populations continue to expand across Wisconsin, with young bears often traveling long distances in search of new territory. For Nowak, however, the early morning visitor was a memorable experience she won\u2019t soon forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a great story,\u201d she said. \u201cReally, really neat.\u201d<\/p>\n

UPDATE: About 10 minutes after this story posted, another Slinger resident chimed in with her bear sighting. Deb Dierbeck said she spotted a black bear roaming through her yard around 5:28 a.m.\u00a0 \u201cMy dog was going crazy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy Deb Dierbeck<\/p>\n

Dierbeck couldn\u2019t get a good shot with her camera so she checked her security camera on the deck and it captured a great photo. \u201cI\u2019m on Nordic Lane and I watched the bear walk right past my window,\u201d she said. \u201cThe bear just walked though the yard and into the woods behind my house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dierbeck said she called Slinger Police to file a report. \u201cI live near the Middle School and was concerned about the students and I just wanted to let them know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of laughing about it because I\u2019ve wanted to move up to the north woods and now maybe I don\u2019t need to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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About two weeks ago Dustin Collett from the Town of Kewaskum said he saw a black bear near Townline Road and Highland.<\/p>\n

Local bear expert Chucker Dreher said Townline Road is the normal route he\u2019s seen black bears take as then travel south. \u201cYou remember that one sow with two cubs<\/a> from a couple years ago? They came down past Townline and ended up a couple people saw them before the mom and a cub got hit by a car near Cabela\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was November 2020<\/a> when the sow and her cubs were spotted on a trail camera.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Dreher said this one is probably a young male, just exploring and looking for food.<\/p>\n

The DNR said it is unusual for black bears to be wandering this far south. Click\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0to read more.<\/p>\n

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