Bear in My Backyard

[HappyAnika]

Oh, I'm so jealous! You lucky duck. I love bears. We had a mom and 2 cubs wander down into my work campus last summer. They were lounging up in the tree. The DOW came to make sure no one got close, then the bears left overnight. Not to hijack, but I'm bored, so here are some pics a coworker took:

[Brandi]

Cuteeee!

[smilingcat]

Wanna trade houses So cute.

smilingcat

[short cut sally]

It is an experience that I would like to see once. My parents are plagued with 2 bears almost nightly. They have destroyed the bird feeders, my parents now either leave the feed on the ground along with bringing in the feeders nightly, my brother lives near them, one got in his dog house and thrashed around, and they come up to his back porch and the dog chases them away. Not to hi-jack your thread. Have you seen them since?

[bmccasland]

When I lived on a fish hatchery in northern Arizona, we used to see a mama bear and 1 or 2 cubs every spring/early summer. It always amazed me how silently they could walk. Seemed one spring was particularly dry, the dogs and I saw the bear family outside one corner of the fence in the evening. I was SURE I kept mama in sight, when I realized my dogs were at the other corner, and wouldn't you know it, there was mama and the cubs. How she got through the dry leaves and twigs so quietly was beyond me.

[emily_in_nc]

Gosh, I would have the opposite reaction as most here. Yes, bear cubs are cute, but a Mama bear will protect her cubs aggressively if she feels threatened, and when there is drought, bears can get aggressive in searching out food as well. Since they associate food with humans all too often, this can have deadly results.

I get nervous about bears when we hike on remote trails in the mountains, and I'm nervous to camp out because of them as well. Don't even TALK about grizzly country to this easterner...I just can't go there; black bears make me nervous enough! There have been two recent stories on the news of black bear attacks -- a black bear drug an 11-year old boy out of his tent and killed him, and the other, the father was able to throw a log at the bear before it attacked his children.

Sorry if I'm a wimp, but no bears for me....please!

Emily

[HappyAnika]

Oh don't get me wrong Emily, I have a healthy respect for and fear of bears. Its one thing when they are in a tree lounging and there is a DOW officer standing next to you with a rifle. Quite another to see one hiking or camping. We went to Montana a few years ago into grizzly country. Planned a hike but when we got to the trail you could tell it wasn't used very often. I was nervous the whole time. We had our keys strapped to the outside of our packs and sang the entire time. Then we camped not to far from there and I barely slept the whole night. I've never run into a bear on a trail, but I know it happens around here, I try to be smart about it to be safe.

Hmm, speaking of which, we are going to Montana again this summer for vacation . . . I might pick up a few bells. At least this time we are sleeping in a lodge!