Nice Bear in front of my house

[PWGUNNY]

This black bear was strolling down the road in front of my vacation home.  The house is at Big Bass Lake in the Poconos.  The area has a decent bear population.  This one was walking right in the road at 8:30am.  I was so excited, I nearly forgot to snap a cell phone pic.

[growalot]

Nice!

[Geno C]

Nice size bear!

[Pav2704]

Definately exciting to see...being that I've never seen one. Lol... I can't wait for my first black bear hunt this August in Maine!

[Doc]

Isn't that a bit scary? Broad daylight .... no fear of human activity? That would make me a bit nervous.

[wheelieman]

Relax Doc, You have 7 rounds to protect yourself and your family!!!!!

[Hunter1]

Real nice bear

[ny hunter]

That looks like a big bear.Not that i have seen many.

[Doc]

Relax Doc, You have 7 rounds to protect yourself and your family!!!!!

Lol ..... Can you imagine the pail of poop you would be in with the DEC if you ever shot one because you thought it was getting ready to attack? And then there is the case where you are out in the shed and your gun is in the house.

 

I'll tell you one thing, it sure did give me a weird feeling that morning that I stepped out of the house and found my bird feeders all bent over, and my garbage can stuck up in the woods at the end of a long trail of garbage. I never even saw the critter, and I didn't like it. He visited the neighbors too and left a big old muddy foot-print on the wall of their house next to the door. I really don't like any of those kinds of things losing their fear of humans and taking up residence in your yard.

[josephmrtn]

Shoot, Shovel, Shut Up!!!

[PWGUNNY]

That bear was the second one in a week.  The first bear was much smaller and it was a few streets over from my house.  This is why no garbage is left out.  All garbage is brought to the trash compactor by the main gate.  People also discover that birdfeeders are also a bad idea.  So far no attacks in our community and I haven't seen any missing dog posters either.

[jjb4900]

anyone remember the incident when a black bear took a 5 month old child from a stroller and killed it?.........happened in Fallsburg, NY in 2002.

[BizCT]

anyone remember the incident when a black bear took a 5 month old child from a stroller and killed it?.........happened in Fallsburg, NY in 2002.

 

Never heard that story before, but I do see it listed here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America crazy...

[PWGUNNY]

anyone remember the incident when a black bear took a 5 month old child from a stroller and killed it?.........happened in Fallsburg, NY in 2002.

Yes, I remember that.  There were additional details that were not in the newspapers.  The incident happened at a Hasidic(Orthodox?) Community Camp.  They believe the baby had food on it's clothes and it's face, which attracted the bear.

You folks that live in the Catskills would be familiar with these types of communities and would probably agree that this is a plausible explanation.  The communities I've seen were typically less than clean.  The ones I used to see around White Lake were pretty disgusting.

[Doc]

Actually given the protective nature of bears with cubs makes you wonder why these incidents aren't more common. Imagine stepping out your front door and encountering a sow with young cubs. I don't think I ever want to have that happen.

 

Also, in areas where bears are fairly dense, it is not uncommon for them to break into vacation cabins and screened in porches in search of food. I also have heard of them destroying campers and ripping into pick-up caps.

[BizCT]

When I was on a wolf hunt in Alberta several years ago, the guide told me that he lost a few friends in the bush to black bears over the years.  He said the local guys who lives in bush are much more afraid of black bears than Grizzlies and that the black bears were much more aggresive.

[Pygmy]

 

Isn't that a bit scary? Broad daylight .... no fear of human activity? That would make me a bit nervous.

Although black bears tend to be nocturnal, it is not unusual to see them out and about during daylight hours..

I've seen them going about thier business all times of the day...I'd say it is much more unusual to see a coon or a possum or a skunk during daylight hours than a black bear...

[Doc]

 Although black bears tend to be nocturnal, it is not unusual to see them out and about during daylight hours..

I've seen them going about thier business all times of the day...I'd say it is much more unusual to see a coon or a possum or a skunk during daylight hours than a black bear...

I think what bothers me so much about that picture is the casual attitude that some bears are developing about humans and their homes. It isn't natural for wild animals to lose that fear of humans. And then for the animal to be of that size and with those killing implements, and also with kind of an ornery disposition, the situation looks like something that a person would have to be careful around and perhaps a bit concerned.