This spring the bear population is not making a good name for themselves. There were two instances in Wis and one in MN where bear wandered up to dwellings in broad daylight and attacked people who were outside. The bears weren't provoked or anything. I'm starting to really fear them!!
My guess (from a show on TV about living in Alaska) is that since there was such a long winter this year, food has been particularly scarce for all wildlife so they're finding freshly planted gardens and such their source of food. Once they claim a territory as theirs, people have to go the extra mile to chase them back to their natural territories and if snow hasn't melted there yet, they will be very dangerous. Dangerous either way since they're so hungry.
I had a jr. bear show up on my front porch one day up in the CA mountains. Our dog was out there throwing fits and when I looked out the front window, our cat was all arched and 3 times her size up on the deck railing. I went charging out only to come face to face with that bear....only 5-6 feet away. At WHICH point, I surprised my OWN self by yelling at him: G'WON!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!...flailing my arms up over my head being I'd read somewhere that you could make yourself seem taller by doing that which was in your favor. Well, darned if the bear didn't turn and run up the hill back into the forest and I actually felt kind of bad I was so mean to him......all the while being absolutely FACINATED by this creature of the wild to the point of following him up the hill to get a better look. LOL ANY-way...best to keep all garbage and food sources well under cover. My bear had just visited our new neighbor who hadn't learned yet NOT to leave garbage in black trash bags on his back porch and our bear had just visited them and strewn garbage all over their yard. Banging pots and pans and yelling at them will usually chase them off but I'm thinking I'd probably do that from a safe distance. Come to think of it, another bear visited us one day when I was unloading groceries. I had to take several trips and had gone to the house with one load and left the hatch to the SUV open with other groceries in back. When I went back for the next load, the bear heard me coming and lumbered across the street back into the forest, but it reminded me of how close to nature we did live and never to tempt fate.
This spring the bear population is not making a good name for themselves. There were two instances in Wis and one in MN where bear wandered up to dwellings in broad daylight and attacked people who were outside. The bears weren't provoked or anything. I'm starting to really fear them!!
ReplyDeleteMy guess (from a show on TV about living in Alaska) is that since there was such a long winter this year, food has been particularly scarce for all wildlife so they're finding freshly planted gardens and such their source of food. Once they claim a territory as theirs, people have to go the extra mile to chase them back to their natural territories and if snow hasn't melted there yet, they will be very dangerous. Dangerous either way since they're so hungry.
ReplyDeleteI had a jr. bear show up on my front porch one day up in the CA mountains. Our dog was out there throwing fits and when I looked out the front window, our cat was all arched and 3 times her size up on the deck railing. I went charging out only to come face to face with that bear....only 5-6 feet away. At WHICH point, I surprised my OWN self by yelling at him: G'WON!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!...flailing my arms up over my head being I'd read somewhere that you could make yourself seem taller by doing that which was in your favor. Well, darned if the bear didn't turn and run up the hill back into the forest and I actually felt kind of bad I was so mean to him......all the while being absolutely FACINATED by this creature of the wild to the point of following him up the hill to get a better look. LOL ANY-way...best to keep all garbage and food sources well under cover. My bear had just visited our new neighbor who hadn't learned yet NOT to leave garbage in black trash bags on his back porch and our bear had just visited them and strewn garbage all over their yard. Banging pots and pans and yelling at them will usually chase them off but I'm thinking I'd probably do that from a safe distance. Come to think of it, another bear visited us one day when I was unloading groceries. I had to take several trips and had gone to the house with one load and left the hatch to the SUV open with other groceries in back. When I went back for the next load, the bear heard me coming and lumbered across the street back into the forest, but it reminded me of how close to nature we did live and never to tempt fate.