Black bear ! Edit - pics added

[cgtara3]

Quote:
Who sells that kind of electric charger? How would one hot wire it enough for a bear to not want to get in? Any link suggestions of where to get supplies? I think that is a great idea for any of us who deal with bears.

 

[DTRM30]

Quote:
no cougars here in CT - but the bear has been sighted in the woods behind me several times. Looked up the prints and the size matches what a full grown bear around here would be. The print is 5" across and you Need to remember that the print isn't going to be perfect in soft muddy dirt. Not all the features are going to be left after light rain. One was hit by a car last year about 2 miles away about the same size. Blacks can be up to 400 lbs but this one is about 250 - average size. We've known it's been around for several years but has never been a problem. I don't expect to see it again - but if it comes back I may have to call fish and game. I live in a rural area / farming community with miles and miles of woods. Im not worried - just need to keep garbage in the garage again.

 

[DTRM30]

I'm not in a position to get an electric fence - but I don't have a lot of stuff left out that would be appealing to a bear. Can't stop it from smelling chicken feed or chickens though - just about everyone on town has chickens, horses, cows, goats etc. I don't expect to see it again and my dog generally barks enough to scare off critters. Just was bad luck I was not home the one night as I'm quite certain had I been home my lab would have heard it and started barking - and it most likely would have run off. She can hear the coons in the yard - I'm sure a commotion like what must have been would not have been overlooked by her

 

[DTRM30]

Red&Yellow :

Those tracks look a little too sidewise oval for a bear. I was just looking at bear tracks online, and they are kind of long from claw to palm. Might you have cougars up 'ere?

Depends on if it's front or rear - front pads aren't as elongated as rear - most Photos and prints I've seen online are of rear paws. Prints are a tricky thing because age of the print combined with natural conditions such as rain can distort them . So can kids walking on them lol

. Black bear is the largest predator around me and they've been sighted all over so I'm fairly certain it's bear. I'm no expert on prints but all the clues match - basic shape average size and known to be common in the area with multiple sightings.​

 

[KimberlyJ]

DTRM30, Thanks for letting me know the CT bear population is awake! Please go to http://www.depdata.ct.gov/wildlife/sighting/bearrpt.htm and report your bear siting. It helps the CT Dept of Environmental Protection trac our black bear population. CT is very hesitant to relocate bears nowadays since they are running out of places to relocate them to. I called to report a siting last summer since it was late afternoon and there were joggers and children out in the neighborhood. The bear came running thru our back yard right toward me. IF I felt the bear was charging me DEP would have come out, but since I felt it was running FROM something and just happened upon me, they didn't come. Our black bear has been in the neighborhood for years and no one really wants to see him have to leave. We are kinda protective of him.... Most of the time he is only sited just out of hibernation or just before going into it while he is trying to bulk up. But this is the first year for our chickens. There's no way we can get rid of everything that might attract him to our yard--apple trees, pear trees, grills, and now chicken!

 

[puredelite]

I would rig up a hotwire that would surely get his attention- a good ole dose of 110! Just make sure all in your household are aware of it and turn it on at dark and off at daylite. Let it come in contact with this and he will sure smell hair burning! Sorry 'bout your loss, seems like poor chickens have so many varmints that find them tasty!

 

[PamB]

Oh boy! CT! That is where I live. Never saw a bear yet though...and never want to. I was hoping you were going to say Montana or something like that. Haha.

 

[dewey]

Quote:
no cougars here in CT - but the bear has been sighted in the woods behind me several times. Looked up the prints and the size matches what a full grown bear around here would be. The print is 5" across and you Need to remember that the print isn't going to be perfect in soft muddy dirt. Not all the features are going to be left after light rain. One was hit by a car last year about 2 miles away about the same size. Blacks can be up to 400 lbs but this one is about 250 - average size. We've known it's been around for several years but has never been a problem. I don't expect to see it again - but if it comes back I may have to call fish and game. I live in a rural area / farming community with miles and miles of woods. Im not worried - just need to keep garbage in the garage again.

For sure they can get really big...I've been near cubs and have come across fresh tracks around water holes 5 minutes after I left and went back and that was way too close for me.

Springing from the desert here (pic below), on these mountains not far from Phoenix metro, we have the most dense population of black bears in the state. They wander into towns occasionally and game & fish removes them. I hope your property stays bear-free.

 

[dadsdeercamp]

this is the north american bear center web cam ted is one of the biggest black bears ever take a look he denned up with a younger male this winter
http://www.bear.org/livecams/ted-lucky-cam.html

 

[DTRM30]

Quote:
no cougars here in CT - but the bear has been sighted in the woods behind me several times. Looked up the prints and the size matches what a full grown bear around here would be. The print is 5" across and you Need to remember that the print isn't going to be perfect in soft muddy dirt. Not all the features are going to be left after light rain. One was hit by a car last year about 2 miles away about the same size. Blacks can be up to 400 lbs but this one is about 250 - average size. We've known it's been around for several years but has never been a problem. I don't expect to see it again - but if it comes back I may have to call fish and game. I live in a rural area / farming community with miles and miles of woods. Im not worried - just need to keep garbage in the garage again.

For sure they can get really big...I've been near cubs and have come across fresh tracks around water holes 5 minutes after I left and went back and that was way too close for me.

Springing from the desert here (pic below), on these mountains not far from Phoenix metro, we have the most dense population of black bears in the state. They wander into towns occasionally and game & fish removes them. I hope your property stays bear-free.
http://i52.tinypic.com/2j1a13s.jpg

That is a beautiful photo !

My sister lived in the phoenix area for a while quite a few years back now (worked at phoenix hospital) - I remember visiting in it was either august or september - can't quite remember which - and south mtn. was just amazing. We also visited the northern part of the state to see the canyon. Beautiful. One of the things I remember most was the warm air coming from the toilet water (because the water was warmer than the air conditioning) - LOL.

I haven't seen any sign of him/her in the last two nights - so that is good. But my brain just won't let me sleep b/c I keep listening for any sound of panicked chickens. I'm pretty tired today at work !

Between the bear and cleaning out my shed b/c the raccoons that were living in my shed were pooping in there - raccoon poop is smells really bad BTW -

it's been a long weekend

There were two homes built behind me on a 30 acre parcel - (most of that lot was deemed un-buildable b/c of wetlands - which is nice) that backs up to miles and miles and miles of wooded area - when one of the homes was built - they found where the bear had wintered - right where the house was going. I found that interesting as I had known about the bear - but didn't think it was actually living literally right behind me ! By a few hundred yards or so ! Anyway - I assumed it had moved further back into the woods since there hasn't been any signs of it since then - but it's apparantely reminiscing on it's old stomping grounds