Pet Lovers

[darkhomespun]

I love bears, for me they are special animals as all animals are. I'm envious of those of you who live near bears and get to see them all the time. Not not make friends with but just to see them Thanks, just curious.

[Mary Bailey]

Chicago Bears  only & not so scary lately LOL

I'd be so scared if there were grizzly or black bears around here

very intesting how people co-exist with them. can't wait to hear...

[darkhomespun]

I follow many bear sites and many co-exist with black bears. Not sure if a grizzly would want to co-exist but I love them. 

[Buffalogal47]

@darkhomespun Timothy Tredwell, aka "Grizzly Man" tried coexisting with grizzlies. They ate him and his girlfriend. Not smart to try to co exist with half ton predators.

[1Snickers]

I'll stick to my Teddy Bears, they are friendly & safe!

[Mellyg]

There are black bears near me (according to DNR). I haven't seen one, while I think they are majestic, I'd be terrified.  I have a family member that heard some rambunctious noise outside their house one night. They had a security system and observed a video of a black bear enjoying a feast (their bird feeder). It was a baby, but undoubtedly, mama was near by! 

[gardenman]

In theory, there are black bears around here, but I've never seen one. I know we have coyotes around here as I've heard them howling in the past, but I've never seen one of them either. Bears don't howl so they could be here also. I'm not sure how many coyotes are around here but one night I was sitting on the back porch and heard a coyote or coyotes howling off to my left. Then there were answering howls off to my right. I decided I'd spent enough time outside about then and headed back in.

[MJDinVegas]

Hi, @darkhomespun !

When my husband and I lived in Front Royal, VA (2006-2010), we lived in a development in Harmony Hollow which backed up to the Shenandoah National Forest.  We routinely had black bear families visit our yard.  We were on 13+ acres that were originally a n apple and pear orchard.  Also had deer, foxes, groundhogs and a wonderful variety of birds.

One night, a bear came up on our deck and raided our Rubbermaid storage container full of birdseed.  Claw marks on the deck railing and destruction everywhere.  Didn't even wake the dogs! LOL!

[Happiness Is Inside JOB]

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@Buffalogal47 wrote:

@darkhomespun Timothy Tredwell, aka "Grizzly Man" tried coexisting with grizzlies. They ate him and his girlfriend. Not smart to try to co exist with half ton predators.

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Wow

I was not aware of this incident!

[Kachina624]

Occasionally a young black bear will wander down from the mountains and into my town.  Their mothers kick them out to live on their own.

Several years ago, one such bear wandered into town and made its way to a senior medical clinic with a large common waiting room.  This facility has handy automatic doors which easily accomodated a young bear.  Boy, did the oldsters scatter when the young bear waltzed in.  I heard it was hard to tell who moved the fastest, the bear or those waiting as they were all scared.

Fortunately our heroes from the fish and game department were in hot pursuit and were able to tranquilize and take this youngster back to a far away mountain where I'm sure he lives happily to this day.