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Lions, Coyotes And Bears? Oh, My! Be Careful

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With a cougar on the loose in Milwaukee, a bear hanging around Michigan City and a thriving coyote population in Chicago, wildlife experts say we can expect more of this kind of thing.

And that comes with a warning.

Wildlife expert Stanley Gehrt, an associate professor at Ohio State University, who's been studying Chicago's coyote population for 15-years, says the populations of coyotes, bears and mountain lions have been increasing, pushing them closer to urban areas.

"The question is whether we can accept the level of risk that they pose."

Chicago has accepted the risk with coyotes.

But, across both borders, they're trying to capture the bear and the mountain lion.

Gehrt notes that while such animals have been around urban areas elsewhere in the country, the novelty here could pose a risk to some who may be intent on getting too close to get pictures.

"My recommendation is they should photoshop. Don't take a selfie with that animal. That's not a good idea. Its not a good idea to get close to them at all."

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Budd Veverka, with the Indiana DNR, notes the black bear is the first confirmed bear in Indiana in more than 140 years.

But, he says, he doesn't expect that it will be the last.

"Its probably going to be more commonplace that these occur ever few years, that we see a bear."

Some will recall the mountain lion that was shot to death by police in Chicago's Roscoe Village neighborhood in 2008.

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