Peppered Bear

[D'Angelo N Va.]

fainted already......I can not imagine going outside and finding a bear. Especially one that does not run from me. I go up to Canada to a town called Barry's Bay almost every summer for a couple of weeks, my inlaws have a summer home on the lake there..they have seen bears at the dump, but I saw one the first year I was up..it darted across the road when we were on our way to algonquin park...needless to say..I was very careful when hiking.

 

[mishellez]

We're so used to them here it's not funny. I'm pretty much immune to them after seeing them so often...we actually have some videos posted on YouTube. For your viewing entertainment:

This was filmed April of last year from our second-story deck, maybe 7 or 7:30 in the morning. Looked out the window, saw him in my neighbor's yard and got my husband, who got his camera. He was tracking 'Mongo', the 700+ pounder that came through the same route and hit our garbage the evening before. (We saw him but didn't film him.) You'll hear the waterfowl going crazy in the background; we have a small lake behind the house. Also, we live on a busy road in the center of town and you'll hear the morning rush hour traffic. You'll also see the second he realizes we're standing there and the expression of shock on his face. Sorry for the mess...we were finishing up grading the property so it looks terrible!

This was this summer. My husband spotted this bear SWIMMING across the lake in our direction and grabbed his camera. He's convinced that this was a bear he'd confronted earlier and tossed firecrackers at since we'd never seen one in the lake before and he seemed to be deliberately avoiding having to come through our backyard to get to where he was going. He literally disappears into the brush. DH estimates him at 300-350 lbs. They have an amazing ability to be silent and to disappear. Hubby also got the girls in this vid...they were free-ranging, which is the reason he was keeping an eye out.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
I agree about him being quite aggressive. He gave me no mind at all even after a warning shot. Since this is the first time I've ever had to resort to gunfire to get one to leave I'm being more cautious when I'm outback. I've put a baby monitor in the coop with the receiver on my nightstand in case he makes a late night return visit, but at this point I don't think that will happen. He was a no show last night and this morning. The birds were out in the run all day today with no problems. They will get some free range time this weekend under supervision. I'm staying vigilant.