By Liz Sawyer

Star Tribune

Authorities shot and killed a 250-pound black bear after it wandered into the heavy populated recreation area near Lord Fletchers Old Lake Lodge on Lake Minnetonka on Saturday afternoon.

Several 911 callers reported sighting of the bear near Shadywood Road and Sunset Drive, close to Wayzatas Coffee Bridge. It later entered the popular eaterys volleyball court, where patrons were grilling nearby, according to police dispatch audio.

The DNR deemed it a public safety threat, said Jon Collins, spokesman for the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office, whose Water Patrol division responded to the scene, along with Orono police and the state Department of Natural Resources.

The unusual sighting marked another in a string of recent black bear appearances throughout the Twin Cities area and farther south. In May, the DNR launched a new online map that lets Minnesotans report bear sightings outside of the animals traditional range across the forests of north and northeastern Minnesota. By Saturday afternoon, the bear that was shot was already part of that record.

Since the map went live this spring, many sightings have been pinned around urban centers, including more than 40 in Anoka County. Others have been spotted south of the Twin Cities metro area in places like Goodhue and Wabasha counties.

On Friday, Chaska police tweeted photos of a bear wandering through neighborhoods there.

Minnesota has an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 bears.