SANTA CLAUS, Ind. — For a few hours on Tuesday, it appeared Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, was welcoming a cool, new visitor into their amusement park gates. A large black bear had seemingly wandered close to the park boundary in the early morning hours.
The Santa Claus Police Department shared a photo of what appeared to be a large black bear spotted near the park on Facebook.
"Around 2:45 a.m. this morning, the visitor posed for a picture the employee was able to snap this photo. In Santa Claus we welcome all visitors, in this case please be cautious and don't ever approach this visitor or any visitor like him," police posted around 9 a.m.
However, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said a subsequent investigation revealed all was not as it seemed.
"Our investigation revealed this purported observation was a hoax – the original photo came from an observation last year in Oregon," said Marty Benson, a spokesperson with the Indiana DNR.
While a Holiday World spokesperson said it was the "company’s policy not to share Team Member employment status", the Santa Claus Police Department told 13News a Holiday World employee was fired because of the incident.
Holiday World said they also determined the photo was not taken on site.
The Santa Claus Police Department told 13News the incident has been "very frustrating" and they are investigating further to see if a crime was committed.
"We take this issue very seriously and apologize to the Santa Claus Police Department, Department of Natural Resources, and the community for the confusion caused by the false report," a spokesperson with Holiday World told 13News.
The Santa Claus Police Department told 13News the incident has been "very frustrating" and they are investigating further to see if an actual crime was committed.
Although DNR found the alleged sighting in Santa Claus were not real, black bear sightings are on the rise in Indiana.
"This is a good reminder that southern Indiana does have suitable habitat for black bears, and roaming males may show up unannounced," Benson said.
Back in the 1800s, black bears were common here in the Hoosier state. But their habitat shrank as we cleared woods, turned forests into communities and hunted them until they were gone, 13News reported back in 2021.
"They were kind of hunted out of existence from the state," said Brad Westrich, who is an expert in mammals for Indiana DNR.
And then, there were none.
In fact, there hadn't been one confirmed report of a black bear in Indiana since just after the Civil War. More than 150 years later, in 2015, that changed. Based on tracking reports, the DNR said a black bear spotted in Vanderburgh County last summer had traveled all the way from Missouri.
Ventures into Indiana do not always end up well for the few black bears who have dared make their way into our state in recent years. One young male was found dead on the side of the road in August 2021. Officials found the bear's carcass on State Road 15 near the entrance to the Indiana Toll Road in Bristol around 11 a.m. "in an advanced state of decomposition."
Indiana DNR encourages anyone who spots a bear report it to on.IN.gov/largemammal so biologists can monitor its movements and provide guidance to those who live in the area.
For more information on how to limit food sources for bears near your home, or just coexisting with bears in general, you can DNR's website here.
