[dianapotts]

I live in black bear country. I have seen a couple since moving here but not on my property. In one instance I got to draw one and her cubs in a tree as bystanders alongside a road watched. I had a small pad and just drew away.

In the last few days, on Yahoo news a small article was posted about a black bear in Colorado walking across a golf tournament. He cause no disturbance and peacefully left.

A few weeks ago a black bear was seen in Princeton, NJ right in town.

It seems the bear population is growing and spreading as they are showing up where they used to not be seen. The Colorado one surprises me more than the Princeton was as bears are native to NJ.. Not sure about Colorado.

Does anyone have any experiences with bears or any bear stories from being around them?

What should I do if one comes by my house when I am outside or if I come near one while bicycling around near evening when they come out? Or if I am walking on my road? Some people say to make noise; others say to stay still and be quiet. Should I just be as though they are another pedestrian as long as I don't come between a mother and her cub?

Diana

[Erika Takacs]

Hi Diana, there are more frequent "visits" by black bears here in Southern Ontario too. I couldn't believe it a few weeks ago there was one wondering around in the neighbouring town. And another one earlier this year about 20 km's away in a suburb. There aren't even deep woods around here, I don't know where they are coming from. A few years ago this was unheard of. Of course there are many if you go up North.

[dianapotts]

Yes, this is why I posted this. It seems to be a growing phenomenon and people need to start talking about it. Humans are building them out of their habitat and people need to learn how to exist around them without holing ourselves in our homes.

I don't think kids can wander around in the woods like I used to do when growing up.

Bear awareness needs to happen now before people begin to get hurt. Th reality a potentially dangerous animal is wandering in areas where people used to be a not be worried about this.

Bear safety rule number one. Don't feed them and don't do things where you would have to drop food if a bear comes around youas in when you are hiking. Hiking trips where people bring food along with them could become a thing of the past if the bear population keeps spreading like it seems to be.

Don't bake brownies in your house near evening or early in the morning with the windows open or maybe even closed. Bears have a very strong sense of smell.

In the Poconos where I live they have been known to break through screen doors to get in houses and they do go on decks and porches where people have just eaten.

I think on forums and blogs it is a good idea to start talking about this if you have even the most basic info regarding bear safety. I think it could be a major issue coming up especially for people with children in rural areas and those people are used to just taking walks in the woods. The natural and suburban environment is changing.

Also, because of the gas prices people are resorting to riding bicycles. It's a good idea, but beware of riding in the early evening before hibernation season.
Thanks for listening Erika.

[Erika Takacs]

I watched a documentary yesterday about bears, they have a sense of smell 7 times better than a dog. I couldn't believe it. Black bears are usually very shy and avoid humans. What is that makes them venture close to humans? Probably easy to get food. Plus sprawling suburbs reduce their habitat all the time. And maybe they're adapting better to their new environment than some other species. We should give them space and respect them.

[BAReam]

Bears are, to the best of my knowledge indigenous to the entire US/Mexico/and Canadian land masses. The population density varies widely though. Now that they are better understood and less often mindlessly destroyed, it's logical their numbers would increase.

My roommate from 1970 and I got all gung-ho and decided to go bear hunting with our bows on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We packed in about 15 miles before we got serious about hunting. About mid-day of the third day we found heavy bear tracks and began tracking. We tracked what we thought was an average sized bear for about 2 miles through fairly heavy cover.

We broke cover at the edge of an open meadow of about 40 acres and there he was... a black bear, down on all fours, scratching the ground. The wind had shifted in the bears favor so we had to flank him about 45 degrees to the north to avoid being scented.

We crawled on our bellies almost 200 yards before we could get a good 20 yard shot. We stopped and gathered our wits and wind for about 5 minutes {seemed like an hour} before attempting to take this bear. Abruptly the bear stood up and pawed the air like he was scratching at something unseen. It became obvious this was NOT and average sized bear, as he stood about 7 foot tall and appeared to be massive.

All those stories of wounded bears eating hunters flooded through my mind and I got a chill down my back. I looked at John; John looked at me and we both silently decided maybe we weren't really so keen on trying to bag this dude. We left as QUICKLY and SILENTLY as possible to our horses. We lived to drink beer another day... amen.


Bruce

[Erika Takacs]

Good story, Bruce! You were very smart to do that. Hope that was the end of your hunting career. Down at Niagara Falls Marineland you can feed both brown and black bears (both sad and humorous as they stand up on two feet and beg for food), some of the black bears are as large as the grizzlies!

[BAReam]

Well Ericka; along the vein of what Duston Hoffman said in {Little Big Man}... "That was the end of my bear hunting days" Although I do still hunt, just not bear, and sure as hell not with a bow

be well... bruce

As a side note ... it gripes my *** {excuse my language} that people are so STUPID and uninformed to feed wild animals. Feeding them only makes them dependent on, and unwary of humans. Not a good situation for either. But, lets face it; people in general are not the "sharpest tools in the shed" so to speak. Misguided, at best. Will get off the podium before I really get wound-up

Be well... Bruce

[Erika Takacs]

This is a theme park, and what can I say: people are people. Change is not easy, but I find it encouraging in my area I see more and more signs of "Please don't feed the animals", and people generally respect it.

[Menolly]

Diana: Black bear visits are fairly familiar where I'm from (Pennsylvania). They've been showing up a lot in developed areas for the usual reasons: food, habitat loss, etc. The good news is that black bears are shy, and don't generally attack unless they're startled or attacked first. I would say that it is a bad idea to get between any wild animal and her young, so that's a no-brainer. Do you have dogs? They tend to be afraid of larger dogs, so you might want to acquire a canine walking companion. Also, if you don't want black bears in your yard, say no to bird feeders and yes to mothballs in your garbage cans. If you run into one while you're out and about, just back away slowly and ditch any food you're carrying. If you think a black bear is causing a problem in the neighborhood, you should contact Animal Control or your local Game Warden. Those numbers should be in your phone book.