OT: Bears

[Pinhead]

Why now? My son, a veterinary tech, theorizes COVID reduction in human activity caused the bears to start expanding their territory southward out of the Berkshires region. Sounds plausible to me.

I can't speak for the Berkshire region, but here in SW Utah I'd suggest that COVID has increased, rather than reduced human activity, certainly in the backcountry, such that any more frequent bear sightings in and around town are not so much that they're expanding their territory, rather, they're being driven out of the "woods".

 

[todbo]

Three years ago, my wife called to me that we had a bear in our Colchester back yard. Sure enough, there it was, munching away at our squirrel-proof sunflower seed feeder. I got my camera and longer lens, stayed a distance away, and snapped. While I put a pic on Facebook, the bear opened our suet feeder, pulled down the hummingbird feeder, took a farewell drink from our birdbath, and strolled off. We have a lovely raised flower bed where the feeders once hung.

 

[Pinhead]

"by laying down, the bear will usually just give you a nip or two, cuff you, and leave."

I'm not suggesting your advice is wrong, nor do I have better, but I do suggest that this statement is a bit indifferent considering the stakes at play.

 

[CL82]

Lie down? Who gave you that advice, the bears?

Give him credit. He left out "smear yourself with honey."

 

[Cuango]

In April we had a large bear hanging around our property for a week or so. First in 25 years of living here in Fairfield County.

We do a lot of wild bird feeding. I had seven feeders out on the deck, atop 8-foot PVC pipes, bracketed to the deck railing at various points. Also, a large metal bin with bags of bird seed inside.

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That slanted roof opens upward, but has latches. I woke one morning to find it pushed up from the middle into a tent shape, which freed the front doors. Seed bags broken into.

Was baffled. What could have the strength to do that? Maybe a big raccoon could have a go at it if he didn''t have to sit on the same roof he was lifting. Wife suggested a bear, which I thought highly unlikely after all these years of seeing none.

So I bolted down the roof. Didn't need it to open, given the front doors. A couple mornings later, doors hanging open anyway. Latches sprung, a heavy seed bag dragged halfway down the lawn, 40 yards or so.

So I brought the bags into the garage. Next morning several of the PVC pipes down, brackets broken, feeders violated.

OK, a bear. Nothing else could've done that.

That night, Mrs. JS saw him, casually walking (lumbering, she said) along outside the front door. Big. Longer than my long coffee table and waist high.

Pipes restored, but only one used for a while, and the feeders on that brought inside overnight. Now Mr. Bear seems to have moved on, but I'm still only using that one pole until November, when I understand he'll be sleeping in.

So now, we're seeing lots of reports on the news of bear sightings in Fairfield County. Greenwich a couple of days ago, Trumbull, etc. We didn't report ours. Didn't want him bothered by animal control or trigger happy neighbors or anyone else. He's welcome to the seed, but feeding him and repairing after his sloppy eating habits was a bit of a pain.

Friends living north of Hartford have been seeing them forever, but not down here. We do live on the edge of a forest, and my bird feeding was on the profligate side, so we were a must-stop on the chow hunting trail.

Why now? My son, a veterinary tech, theorizes COVID reduction in human activity caused the bears to start expanding their territory southward out of the Berkshires region. Sounds plausible to me.

This was a black bear?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

And here I live in Arizona with a reputation for "critters" - but largely 10 years, very few critters. I was walking earlier this year out on the main road and saw one of our common ground rodents flying through the air - looked again and there was a rattlesnake - the first I've seen - uncurling. I don't know what the outcome of the snake / rodent encounter was, but I can guess.

 

[Cuango]

Lie down? Who gave you that advice, the bears?

He’s right! The experts say that if you are attacked by a brown bear (grizzly) your best move is to play dead while covering the back of your neck with your hands. Also helps to be wearing a solid backpack. The thing is… grizzly/brown bear attacks are rarely predatory and they are likely only wanting to slap you around as a warning rather than seriously wanting to eat you. Black bear attacks are usually predatory and will follow through with the attack because they see you as a food item rather than an irritant. I think we can all guess why there is nothing for white (polar) bears except kissing your a€£ goodbye!

 

[D J B]

He’s right! The experts say that if you are attacked by a brown bear (grizzly) your best move is to play dead while covering the back of your neck with your hands. Also helps to be wearing a solid backpack. The thing is… grizzly/brown bear attacks are rarely predatory and they are likely only wanting to slap you around as a warning rather than seriously wanting to eat you. Black bear attacks are usually predatory and will follow through with the attack because they see you as a food item rather than an irritant. I think we can all guess why there is nothing for white (polar) bears except kissing your a€£ goodbye!

I read somewhere that polar bears are the only animal that will actively track down a human being. I've never spotted one on my property, so I'm not too worried right now.

 

[Veteran]

 

[Ozimoto]

We have had a hunting season for bears in the two western most counties of Maryland for a decade or so now. They had become so numerous and damaging that DNR (in spite of howling protests from the folks "down state who thought they were cute) instituted the hunt to keep the population under control. In spite of that, the bears are expanding their range and moving east into more populated areas in central Maryland. Somehow the downstate folks don't find them so cute anymore...

 

[D J B]

We have had a hunting season for bears in the two western most counties of Maryland for a decade or so now. They had become so numerous and damaging that DNR (in spite of howling protests from the folks "down state who thought they were cute) instituted the hunt to keep the population under control. In spite of that, the bears are expanding their range and moving east into more populated areas in central Maryland. Somehow the downstate folks don't find them so cute anymore...

Many of those folks who think they are cute are also likely to feed them, or try to approach them. It was a major problem in California when I lived there. Now that I live in Maryland, it's sad to see it beginning here as well. There is a saying that "a fed bear is a dead bear", because if people feed them, sooner or later you have to shoot them. (The bear, not the people, unfortunately.)

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I read somewhere that polar bears are the only animal that will actively track down a human being. I've never spotted one on my property, so I'm not too worried right now.

lots of animals 'will actively track down a human being.' mountain lions, wolves, wasps, etc. pro tip: todays weather -hhh, is the kind that is most likely to make a wasp chase you down and remind you that u just caused a real or imagined threat to them. kinda like a driver stuck in traffic on 95, running late, and with no a/c. stay far back from that one.
DNA Confirms Bear Killed by Wildlife Officials Was Grizzly That Mauled Calif. Woman – NBC New York
black bears in the northeast are generally not a mortal threat to us, but it's getting to be too dang many of them, and most of us are starting to think 'get off my lawn.'

 

[Bigboote]

We have had a hunting season for bears in the two western most counties of Maryland for a decade or so now. They had become so numerous and damaging that DNR (in spite of howling protests from the folks "down state who thought they were cute) instituted the hunt to keep the population under control. In spite of that, the bears are expanding their range and moving east into more populated areas in central Maryland. Somehow the downstate folks don't find them so cute anymore...

A friend of mine who lived in Hagerstown went up to New Brunswick to go bear hunting, probably 10-15 years ago. Could've saved himself a lot of money if he'd waited.

In Monkey County I've seen bear scat at work (there have been two sightings) and I'm pretty sure coyote in my yard. A friend a couple of miles away has seena a coyote, and there are known to be lots in the area. I'd take a few black bears over some dozens of coyotes any day. But that's just me. I've seen bears in Maine and never got a bad vibe from them. The one coyote I saw in Virginia kind of shocked me because it was much bigger than I'd expected. I'd thought they usually went 40-50 lb, but was informed by my FIL, whose land it was on, that around there 75 or more isn't unusual.

 

[CL82]

A friend of mine who lived in Hagerstown went up to New Brunswick to go bear hunting, probably 10-15 years ago. Could've saved himself a lot of money if he'd waited.

In Monkey County I've seen bear scat at work (there have been two sightings) and I'm pretty sure coyote in my yard. A friend a couple of miles away has seena a coyote, and there are known to be lots in the area. I'd take a few black bears over some dozens of coyotes any day. But that's just me. I've seen bears in Maine and never got a bad vibe from them. The one coyote I saw in Virginia kind of shocked me because it was much bigger than I'd expected. I'd thought they usually went 40-50 lb, but was informed by my FIL, whose land it was on, that around there 75 or more isn't unusual.

A few years ago I read an article about coyotes and wolves cross breeding. The resulting “coy wolf” is supposedly larger than a coyote and more cooperative in packs. I wonder if that is what you saw.

 

[AmeriConn]

Bears:
Black: Fight back
Brown: Lie down
White: Good night

I can’t bear the thought!

 

[Zarathustra]

I live in MAINE, home of the University of Maine "BLACK BEARS"!!
So.....consider... no more feeding of anything in the back yard.
In psychology this would be considered discontinuing ++ positive reinforcement
(i.e. You Feed Them , they will come!). Also consider not going back to
feeding very soon, this would be an "intermittent reinforcement " schedule ( sometime
feeding, some times not feeding ) and this is one of the hardest behavioral patterns
to extinguish, See PSYCHOLOGY 102.
Also if you see a "baby" bear leave the scene quietly. MOMMA BEAR could
be around...... they are protective and can run rather fast.
A game warden can set a trap for truly troublesome animals. Leave it to
the professionals. Best Wishes

 

[dogged1]

I recently read an article that proposed exactly the same thing.

FWIW, In my experience, bears are not particularly dissuaded by human activity.

I can think of one - bear hunting.

 

[triaddukefan]

The look on that bear's face

 

[Dogstar]

I can think of one - bear hunting

I've lived on the Bloomfield Simsbury line for 15 years, seen at least 20 bears In my neighborhood, most just shuffle through, one was running at a highly quickened pace(you can't believe how fast they are until you see em moving), with the sows having 3-4cubs at a time and with no natural predators bear sightings and encounters will rise, they have to be relocated or have a lottery for a hunting tag, I'd prefer relocating first....The garage cans and bird feeders in my neighborhood sure would appreciate either solution .

 

[vtcwbuff]

I skipped most of the posts in this thread so I'm probably repeating things that have already been said, but I know the answer to why bear sightings are becoming more common in CT. It's because nobody is killing them. Simple as that. They have no predators and lots of food sources.

 

[temery]

I skipped most of the posts in this thread so I'm probably repeating things that have already been said, but I know the answer to why bear sightings are becoming more common in CT. It's because nobody is killing them. Simple as that. They have no predators and lots of food sources.

Bear, like all species, will reach the areas carrying capacity, with fewer births as the end result. Shooting them may likely be a short term answer that creates other long term problems.

Wolf Reintroduction Changes Ecosystem in Yellowstone

Wolves are causing a trophic cascade of ecological change, including helping to increase beaver populations and bring back aspen, and vegetation.

www.yellowstonepark.com