I am the prey..pictures page 6

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
Are you kidding here? Your ignorance is showing go back through this *entire thread* read the entire thing & then realize this is the *tip of the problem* .

The reason the traps are all "busy" is because there are SO many calls with bears destroying things & *breaking into homes*. They "almost never attack humans"? Is that what you're going to tell the person who's trapped *in their own kitchen*? I live on the other side of town from thewarriorchild & it isn't *a bear* but BEARS there are *too many of them* & none of them are afraid of the humans... I know about the calls going into the cops because my son is a cop! People's lives are in danger & the average person confronted with bears no longer call the police or the DPWLFG because they know they'll be given the same ole crap you just gave us here "take away the food source, use blech in the garbage cans etc. etc." when you take away the food source outside *they break in your house*..... THAT is why all the traps are in use.... You have no idea of the problem & no one does because the media doesn't tell this szide of it because it's not PC to say "let's have a bear hunt" & people are afraid of the B.E.A.R. group & as well they should be because the people with harrasse beyond belief......

 

[justmeandtheflock]

Quote:
Yes, it is. I have so many encounters recently, I won't list them all. The worst that has happened was that my dog got scratched on the head when he went after one in the yard and the boys were approached by a cub out in the yard. We have 2 large males that keep coming back around and just don't seem to be worried about us being there or the dogs anymore. They are getting more brave. These bears are not afraid of us. One started charging when my DH went out to condition it, all DH did was walk into the back yard at that point. What if I didn't know it was there and me and the kids walked out there?

Even if I wanted to, and I wouldn't, SSS is not really an option here because you would get caught. What are the chances that it would fall where it was hit? Most people in this area don't have large parcels. On top of that, the bears here are bigger than they are in most areas of the country becuase this is prime habitat. It is getting more and more common for the males to get over 800 lbs. That's a pretty big animal to be disposing of while your neighbors look on.

When most of the houses here were built there were no bears, they were nearly extinct in NJ. They have since moved back in to the state from neighboring states and begun breeding, so yes, they are choosing to live in populated areas.

They are breeding like crazy. It is very common to see mothers with up to 5 cubs at a time around here. They are protected and the population is exploding.

Bears commonly break into peoples garages around here if they smell something inside. They go up on decks to go after grills. They do return regularly to bird feeders and any other food source that they can count on. There are strict rules on bear handling and Animal Control cannot do anything until they have been proven to do a certain amount of damage to someones property, I'm not sure of the amount. Law enforcement has their hands tied by the state government.

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
I swear I would give you free room & board! & you could just sit here for a day & then go to thewarriorchild's side of town the next day.......

Seriously my problems haven't really begun this year yet & I'm just dealing with the left over cubs I guess from last year??? You probably don't remember but I had the mom with the 5 cubs. It kind of looked like 2 of them where still together at the start of the season but mom was gone. Is that normal panner for them to start out their first season together??? I saw one of them again the other day, I was cleaning windows & hanging out cleaning the ouside of the top pain when I turn around & there below (the window starts like 8 feet off the ground there so I'm above her) me is a bear making it's way around the woutside of the fence. Hubby has the electric running around the top of it which is usually pretty effective when it's working but it just so happened that day it was not because there must have been a branch down touching it etc. So there I am & *PO'D* because it's looking for the way in & so I started yelling at her & I got the usual "what's your problem" look from it so I was hurling the bottle of window cleaner at it etc. Making loud noises hardly even effects them now so banging the pot lids or the air horn has little effect & they sort of just blow it off with an "fu" look.

So here I'd gone & had gotten me a home grown cop (my son) who's working on getting the credentials to use the shot gun for these things & he's *moved out*! Seriously Panner according to him the police use the rubber bullets as a means of "conditioning" because the bears have become so accustomed to being in and around people they're not affraid at all & so that's where they sort of start in trying to teach them "not here" Of course at the same time they've another office behind them with the shot gun loaded with the *real thing* because it is indeed dangerous... I don't think it's working anymore either because Like thewarrierchild said the bear was back in her yard that night or the next morning etc. It's incredible really how accustomed the bears have become to our lives... Over the years everyone has started to wait until garbage day & put their garbage out that morning so it's not sitting out there too long & so now it's like the bears are working off the same schedule & will likely show up on garbage day.... It's something of a joke here that the bears are waiting at the end of the driveways on garbage day for their meal.... Of course we all joke because you either laugh or cry about it.... But anyway according to him the bears KNOW what the rubber bullets are & because they've been conditioned with them now when the shot gun is cocked they jump & run. This is like huge because there isn't much that makes them jump or move quick.... But after that we have no defense here... They are literally breaking into homes here & last year my neighbors son had one break into his basement through the window & there was no doors down there the thing was freaking out because it didn't know how to get back out etc. It's just getting so dangerous & people have no clue. You never hear of these stories on the news only the cutesy stories...

 

[mominoz]

Suggestions and comments:
Try my favorite wildlife deterent MOTHBALLS! (I live in rural farm area, --- I know they stink (grocery stores , walmart , etc. carry them for about 2.75 a box).Which is good, Put them around the perimeter of your chicken house, and your house and yard. They will last thru the rain for a while. They will mess up the olifactory senses of the bears. (who wants mothballs for lunch?). Keeps deer away from new trees and shrubs too.
Consider a fieldfence perimeter-- or barb wire fence. It makes them usually go around to easier pickings.
I love animals--but many city/suburban people actually believe the National Geographic , PETA/Bambi view of wildlife.
They said the same thing about wolves--to get them in Yellowstone. Now the truth cames out , they go on killing sprees , a documented by NFS of them killing 72 caribous calves and just eating their noses... "They said no documnented cases of attacking humans", hah-- just watch "Animal Planet" now. There have been several attacks on humans now-- a family camping just last week was on. There have been coyotes attacking joggers, children, etc. Oh, yeah, remember the nutty bear guy they made the movie about?, who finally got eaten in Alaska? too bad his girlfriend listend to his silliness, it cost her her life.
Farmers in wilderness areas, have a heck of a time protecting their young stock.
Oh, yeah, too bad the 6 year old in Tennesee, whose family stopped for lunch and a walk near Chattanooga, got killed by a bear, because she was afraid and ran ...
I always carry a 1,000,000 volt stun gun and at least a small bear mace and a phone on me when I work outside or ride my horse alone. More for loose dogs and coyotes, but better to have something , than nothing.
P.S. Be careful what you say here. Never know who is reading!

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
Yes, it is. I have so many encounters recently, I won't list them all. The worst that has happened was that my dog got scratched on the head when he went after one in the yard and the boys were approached by a cub out in the yard. We have 2 large males that keep coming back around and just don't seem to be worried about us being there or the dogs anymore. They are getting more brave. These bears are not afraid of us. One started charging when my DH went out to condition it, all DH did was walk into the back yard at that point. What if I didn't know it was there and me and the kids walked out there?

Even if I wanted to, and I wouldn't, SSS is not really an option here because you would get caught. What are the chances that it would fall where it was hit? Most people in this area don't have large parcels. On top of that, the bears here are bigger than they are in most areas of the country becuase this is prime habitat. It is getting more and more common for the males to get over 800 lbs. That's a pretty big animal to be disposing of while your neighbors look on.

When most of the houses here were built there were no bears, they were nearly extinct in NJ. They have since moved back in to the state from neighboring states and begun breeding, so yes, they are choosing to live in populated areas.

They are breeding like crazy. It is very common to see mothers with up to 5 cubs at a time around here. They are protected and the population is exploding.

Bears commonly break into peoples garages around here if they smell something inside. They go up on decks to go after grills. They do return regularly to bird feeders and any other food source that they can count on. There are strict rules on bear handling and Animal Control cannot do anything until they have been proven to do a certain amount of damage to someones property, I'm not sure of the amount. Law enforcement has their hands tied by the state government.

justmeandtheflock we hear you & do know it's very much the same way here where thewarriorchild & I are living.... We've been told that we're suppose to thoroughly scrub the grill inbetwen every use so it doesn't smell like grease....

And you know the Stillwater/Susses area is the same as our area really in that yes there are more houses now but in a way that is a protection for the bears because years ago this was all open & most of it farm land & a farmer back in the day would have just shot a pest whatever the size & you're right we can't really do that here because the neighbors are too close.... in the 1970's there were fewer bears because they were hunted on a regular basis & then they stopped because the numbers of them dwindled & so DWLF&G stopped the hunting. But now they've not only made a come back but the numbers are so high & you're right the cubs are routinely 3 to 5 cubs..... Anyway just know we hear you & we really understand.

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
Mominoz good tips thanks I'll try anything once or twice...

I hear having the males urinate outside is suppose to ward off some predators too. I don't know if it works on bears but I know "boys will be boys" anyway & so I always tell them to aim for the fense.... & the back yard now I've got the electric wire going around the top & that seems to work pretty well when it's working. At times if something touches it like branches etc. it'll short it out & then it has to be adjusted (which is hubby) but it does a pretty good job.

As for activities I'm more likely to go out in the yard alone now since we've gotten the fence but prior to that I just couldn't do that until hubby was here with me because we've had the split rail fence for a good few years now & my fear has always been the bear coming over it (which was a common thing) & I'd be poolside or in the garden & not hear it at first & then I'd be cornered. And worse if the dogs were with me they would corner it & then I'd have done dogs... I can't go walking anymore or not alone & I'd thought to take bear spray but it's just so nerve racking I figure it's better to just go inside on the treadmill. So I moved to the country & have to use a treadmill???

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
thewarriorchild I'm sorry I'd missed this thread. I'd been frustrated by the last one & thought given my issue with high blood pressure that the stress with dealing with the bears themselves was enough and so to argue with people who spout off with ridiculas things like "they were here first" I just cut that from my life. Those things don't help when we've got a bear pounding down the garage door..... I'd moved all my chicken feed into the garage & of course the garbage is in there & so they were literally trying to bash in the door last year...

Anyway I wanted to tell/warn you *HUGE male* like 700 lbs along the stretch that use to be one of the entrances to Jungle Habitat that's now open to that new grassy area alongside of Battenellie on the new stretch of Greenwood Lake tpke. he's the biggest I've seen in a while & we were just in awe & of course went home feeling like we should be building a fortress... LOL Anyway wanted to give you a heads up because heaven only knows how far that one is traveling these days.

Aside from the story I recounted in the posting to panner it's been quiet here. I think last time I spoke with you was the weekend I'd been hurling pot lids out the window of the 2nd story that had that young male quicken his step. I think the following day I took the hose over the fence to him too but aside from that It's been quiet. My husband said that the neighbor apparently has his son home from college now & his dog is a some 100 pound bulldog that trees that same male like daily... I'm hoping the thing is just tired of it here & has stopped coming this way...

I can dream anyway.


How's things by you the past fedw days, I've been thinking of you....

 

[justmeandtheflock]

Quote:
Thank you

I wasn't aware of the hunts in the 70's. Just read about them here: http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/bearfacts_history.htm

I figured out where you guys are, it's where I am originally from

And I just want to say, in case anyone got the wrong idea, I don't want to SSS and I never would. I don't even know how to use a gun. We abide by the laws and have not nor will not go outside of them in dealing with this situation. I was just responing to the numerous post suggesting that was the answer. I just want them to stay in the woods away from us where they belong instead of my yard. I am frustrated with their lack of fear.

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
Thank you

I wasn't aware of the hunts in the 70's. Just read about them here: http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/bearfacts_history.htm

I figured out where you guys are, it's where I am originally from

And I just want to say, in case anyone got the wrong idea, I don't want to SSS and I never would. I don't even know how to use a gun. We abide by the laws and have not nor will not go outside of them in dealing with this situation. I was just responing to the numerous post suggesting that was the answer. I just want them to stay in the woods away from us where they belong instead of my yard. I am frustrated with their lack of fear.

No one wants to SSS or break any laws, we're just all frustrated because we speak of bears breaking into homes & we're told to wash out the garbage cans with bleach & scrub the grills. It was funny a couple weeks ago my husband was speaking to a business associate who lives in Mahwah. This man has a weekend /summer home on Greenwood lake & one wouldn't think there's a really big difference from Mahwah to Greenwood Lake but they've never seen a bear & I imagine thought hubby was exaggerating when he'd speak of the encounters here. Then last week his wife was up at the house & she'd come up a day earlier than her husband or that's what the plan was until she came out of the house at around 7:00 pm & found herself face to face with a *big boy* where upon she found herself nearly frozen with fear & slowly backed her way into the house where she remained petrified until her husband got there a 1/2 hour later. But see now they have a much better understanding because the possibilities of her having had one of the grand children with her or a dog who would have provoked it etc are a real reality for them. The rest of NJ & NYC sort of do an eye roll when they speak of the bears etc. I've lived in this same town for 26 yrs. now & I'd fed the birds for many of those years & hadn't ever seen a bear either but the population has grown such that now they are just all over & they are huge.... & when we say they keep coming back for our chickens we're told to "get rid of your chickens". So now living in the country you can't go walking, have live stock, have a bird feeder and where I am if you're having a yard party a bear will show up.

 

[Mom2Cool]

Oh & justmeandtheflock thanks for the link to the article....