People around here are worried

They are so skittish, if they were aware of how many times they (probably) spooked one off during a walk they'd not be concerned.

 

Have them on my Northern Michigan hunting property, see the tracks, never see them. Unless they get addicted to rummaging through trash cans, pretty solitary creatures.

 

This was recently taken just over the hill from my house. Hard to believe at 1st. I did talk to a young police officer that I shoot archery with yesterday and he said it's absolutely real. I for one am glad about it. Guess they are pushing west into Ohio from Pennsylvania.

 

Plenty here in central Connecticut as well. Two summers ago I spotted one in my backyard on 4 separate occasions. They go through the neighborhood trash cans once in a while but generally don’t bother anyone. People that have installed those Ring doorbells with the cameras love to share videos of the shenanigans the bears do in their front yards. I don’t see any reason to get hysterical about their presence, just make sure not to leave your pets or kids outside when they’re around.

 

Never had any issues with them here. We have plenty, actually have a couple wall hangers too. We did have a huge sow live on our property 20 years ago. She wasn’t scared of anything and if it was in the road and a car stopped to let it pass she would charge the vehicle! Luckily she’s gone, I did make a pact to eliminate it if I got the chance.

 

When I had chickens back in the 90's, there was a bear that had tried ripping it's way into the coop. Ended up with a little damage to the fence and coop of course but after a quick call to the dnr on what I could do it was the same old warning.....

"You can't shoot a bear for coming onto your property. If it is creating damaging and or threatening (livestock), well then, blah, blah, blah."

Oh, you mean like tearing into the coop and damaging a fence?

"Um, yeah. That would meet those requirements. You want us to bring a trap over?"

 

That's why you don't go asking questions to begin with.......

 

After 35 of living in the woods of western Oregon, I saw my first real live wild bear.....it was walking down the side of the interstate in Worcester Massachusetts!

 

Yup!

 

My uptight neighbors were complaining about a bare!

 

Same thing that happens when I take my shirt off to split wood in January.

Or the say 'I didnt think they let those things out of water...'

Sca

 

Once bears here get a taste of garbage, they pretty well won't leave it alone. As the territory around here isn't big enough to relocate the bear, they end up being shot. People are the root cause of a troublesome bear. Keeping garbage bear proof and cleaning up fruit trees is one way to keep bears out of the community.

 

It's that time of year for bears to start showing up in towns here in the Ozarks. We've been extremely dry the last 3-5 weeks so the summer dearth is hitting early. The bears should start showing up along the creeks flowing in/out of town then in people's yards looking for grubs, bulbs, and cat food.

We have the hotwire fence on again around the chicken coop because the smaller varmints are getting hungry and more aggressive.

 

I'm in the middle of bear country so see them often, although I've seen more these last couple weeks than ever before. I blame that on the heavy defoliation from the Gypsy moth caterpillars and no acorns for two years. They need to eat and if there is no natural food available, they will move into habited areas. Additionally, Covid has increased the influx of city-folk into the area who are building on any acreage they can get their hands on. When you cut down the forest, the bears have to go somewhere. Those are also the people who want to 'move to the country' but call the police and Fish & Game every time an animal walks in the yard. They claim it's their 'right' to have bird feeders up during prime bear feeding time and it's the state's job to 'manage' the bear. SMH. As others have said, don't leave food out, keep you stuff locked up, protect your livestock, don't feed the bears, don't try to pet the bears and they won't be a problem. There have been some recent attacks in the last decade however the last human fatality from a black bear around here was in 1784.

 

Everytime bears and bird feeders come up I always laugh at the thinking (or lack of) when these people fail to understand a "free meal" in nature, and the lack of thinking that this applies to humans also. (govt. handouts)

 

could be a forum member.....was it hitch hiking?

 

Lol, not hitch hiking, just eating roadside garbage....

 

We just found out the DNR identified what they believe is a dog / wolf hybrid running wild not a mile from here. Caught on a game or security camera from a resident next road over. All we need is population of those around here with all the coyotes we already have.

 

Bears don’t have thumbs, silly