Bears in the hood

[lew]

I've found several piles of bear droppings in the woods within 200' of my house in the last 2 months, a neighbor 1/4 mile away had a bear in his back yard recentely, and another neighbor down the road spotted one a couple weeks ago.

 

Most of the homes on the road have wooden or fiberglass boxes at the end of the driveway to secure the garbage from critters until the truck picks it up, but this morning when we were driving into town we noticed 3 of them had been tipped over and one box was dragged 15' across the lawn.

 

This afternoon we found a bear track right at the end of our driveway but I'm not sure how old it is. We had very heavy rain here on Monday but it's been warm and dry here the last few days and the clay is drying up. I'm thinking the heavy rain would have washed any tracks away and this was probably from just after that. The clay in the track is cracked too and I thought I'd post it anyways incase anyones interested.

 

Not a good picture but it actually is very clear in person and the claws are very pronounced.

 

Certainly not unusual to have bears in the area, but this girl seems to be hanging around alot lately.

 

Edited July 28, 2011 by lew

[RyanT]

BIGFOOT!!!

 

Set up a trail cam... or try and catch him alive.

[misfish]

Lew ,you keep up with these posts,you,ll have us hunters asking if we can hunt here.

 

BTW,How much to stay in the garage?

[Fish Farmer]

I think the Bears are getting more nervy. My step-son has a cottage in Norland and he had a campfire for the grandkids to do the hot-dogs, marshmallow and pie-iron thing. That night the kids wanted to sleep-out in the pup tent. The next day the bears had tore up were the campfire was. That ended wanting to sleep out.

[lew]

 

BTW,How much to stay in the garage?

 

I've actually got a spot IN the house for you Brian and you'll have a choice of deer, gobbler and now even bear. Heck, you could get any of them right from the back deck

[lew]

I think the Bears are getting more nervy. My step-son has a cottage in Norland and he had a campfire for the grandkids to do the hot-dogs, marshmallow and pie-iron thing. That night the kids wanted to sleep-out in the pup tent. The next day the bears had tore up were the campfire was. That ended wanting to sleep out.

 

Scary stuff Dave and bear sightings seem to be getting more frequent every year.

[DRIFTER_016]

We had a blackie wandering around down town last week.

Seems evry year we have critters roaming around here.

Since I've been here we have had Black and Grizzly Bears, Cougars (the 4 legged cat not the 2 legged bar fly ) and I have seen a Wolverine at the bottom of my driveway. As well as foxes, coyotes and wolves. Had wolves grab a guys dog 2 blocks away from my place last year.

[Fisherman]

Boom, dig and dispose, or Fffffft, wait and dispose.(Don't know how to make a crossbow arrow noise).

[misfish]

Boom, dig and dispose, or Fffffft, wait and dispose.(Don't know how to make a crossbow arrow noise).

SWIFT

[Joey]

Well that's kind of cool Lew, just be careful at night out there.

 

On time at Paul's parents' cottage near Minden, we were sitting in the living room and hear a huge bang and dragging noise. We looked out the window and shone the flashlight to find a huge bear who had opened the garage door and dragged the garbage out across the lawn and was picking through it. Having been out there in the dark many times, it gave me pause

[BillM]

I've actually got a spot IN the house for you Brian and you'll have a choice of deer, gobbler and now even bear. Heck, you could get any of them right from the back deck

 

 

Hunting deer while lew serves you coffee in the morning! :)

[danc]

Aw yes. Black bears. Just don't pet them or they'll be back for more. They really like getting scratched behind the ears. Honestly though, I've been face to face with Black Bear mommas more than once. If you ever get the chance, go for it. They are awesome animals. I pretty much see them every time I go fishing. There's usually bear scat all over the road on the drive in. Being terrified of Black Bears is a Southern Ontario myth. I'm going out camping and fishing this weekend, and I'm more concerned about being struck by lightning than having an encounter with a bear. The bears will be there guaranteed. The lightning, hopefully not.

[lew]

Hunting deer while lew serves you coffee in the morning! :)

 

That's gotta be better than climbing 30' up and sitting in a tree stand all day Bill

[irishfield]

Aw yes. Black bears. Just don't pet them or they'll be back for more. They really like getting scratched behind the ears. Honestly though, I've been face to face with Black Bear mommas more than once. If you ever get the chance, go for it. They are awesome animals. I pretty much see them every time I go fishing. There's usually bear scat all over the road on the drive in. Being terrified of Black Bears is a Southern Ontario myth. I'm going out camping and fishing this weekend, and I'm more concerned about being struck by lightning than having an encounter with a bear. The bears will be there guaranteed. The lightning, hopefully not.

 

Don't forget to hang your food between two trees Dan !

[danc]

Don't forget to hang your food between two trees Dan !

 

That's reserved for my hammock Wayne. I'll hand feed the bears if they're around.

[Rodwrap]

Monday was hot as heck here. The wife went out to take a dip in the pool about 9 pm. I heard a blood -curdling scream from her. I figured it was a bat, cause she's paranoid about them. I went out, there's a bear on the deck..LOL. I yelled at it, didn't move, I had to turn the hose on it so the wife could get back to the door.

 

She oughtta be used to it by now...we have them all the time...

 

 

[timmeh]

I think the Bears are getting more nervy.

 

You're right and i think this is a big problem. Bears up north are in a natural environment and for the most part they try to avoid people. But these bears coming into southern Ontario are a different story. They're not coming into town by choice, they're being forced to look for new territory, and they're often young male bears. And they're hungry. And the real problem is that they are, or will, learn to associate people with food. They're out of their element and may not react the same way northern bears do.

Edited July 29, 2011 by timmeh

[adolson]

This is why my wife only wants to camp at actual campgrounds, like Marten River, because she says they monitor for animals. I don't remember any cameras over our tent last time we stayed there!

 

I would rather find a small island and camp on that, myself. Put some water between the mainland and us, and that should help. I hope.

[Carp]

We had a blackie wandering around down town last week.

Seems evry year we have critters roaming around here.

Since I've been here we have had Black and Grizzly Bears, Cougars (the 4 legged cat not the 2 legged bar fly ) and I have seen a Wolverine at the bottom of my driveway. As well as foxes, coyotes and wolves. Had wolves grab a guys dog 2 blocks away from my place last year.

 

 

You live in paradise !!!

[lew]

Monday was hot as heck here. The wife went out to take a dip in the pool about 9 pm. I heard a blood -curdling scream from her. I figured it was a bat, cause she's paranoid about them. I went out, there's a bear on the deck..LOL. I yelled at it, didn't move, I had to turn the hose on it so the wife could get back to the door.

 

She oughtta be used to it by now...we have them all the time...

 

 

 

Some great pictures there Rodwrap, thanks for that, but that guy is definetely getting a bit to close for comfort

 

 

And Drifter, I hafta admit I was surprised to hear you say you've got cougars up your way...at least the 4 legged kind...as I honestly never knew they lived that far north.

 

Thanks for the lesson

[Billy Bob]

Monday was hot as heck here. The wife went out to take a dip in the pool about 9 pm. I heard a blood -curdling scream from her. I figured it was a bat, cause she's paranoid about them. I went out, there's a bear on the deck..LOL. I yelled at it, didn't move, I had to turn the hose on it so the wife could get back to the door.

 

She oughtta be used to it by now...we have them all the time...

 

 

 

So your wife was swimming bare, eh.....

[Cookslav]

A bear at your back door...repeatedly is not a good thing.

Not nessasarily an impending catatrophy either, but definatly cause for bit more caution.

 

North or not they should scare when encountered....if not....well I think the conversation of "Fwwwwt", "boom" or what have you is acceptable

 

 

Funny but true...I've had encounters with bears in the wild far from the city, and they generally run when they pick up my scent.

But I've been in a situation near a garbage dumpster(semi urban setting) that was actually pretty intense...long story made short I stalked and chased.

Yet we have a hunt camp crawling with them....never seen anything in camp, though we run a clean camp.

 

I think urban/fringe bears/nuisance bears are ALOT different then the bears you encounter by chance in the woods. In an urban/fringe/homestead setting IMO Once that fear is gone, its time for the bear to go or your tempting fate....not that you yourself may be in imediate danger, but its a matter of time until your Garbage dumpster is smashed, or your BBQ, bird feeders, sheds.... or in a rough year you might just come home and find your pantry raided.

 

Thats not southern ontarian crazy either LOL!

I get that....I've talked to people who are completely paranoid, and out to lunch but IMO

There is a vast difference between a bear munching on your garbage and a wild bear out in the stix Just say'n

[bubbles]

A bear at your back door...repeatedly is not a good thing.

Not nessasarily an impending catatrophy either, but definatly cause for bit more caution.

 

North or not they should scare when encountered....if not....well I think the conversation of "Fwwwwt", "boom" or what have you is acceptable

 

 

Funny but true...I've had encounters with bears in the wild far from the city, and they generally run when they pick up my scent.

But I've been in a situation near a garbage dumpster(semi urban setting) that was actually pretty intense...long story made short I stalked and chased.

Yet we have a hunt camp crawling with them....never seen anything in camp, though we run a clean camp.

 

I think urban/fringe bears/nuisance bears are ALOT different then the bears you encounter by chance in the woods. In an urban/fringe/homestead setting IMO Once that fear is gone, its time for the bear to go or your tempting fate....not that you yourself may be in imediate danger, but its a matter of time until your Garbage dumpster is smashed, or your BBQ, bird feeders, sheds.... or in a rough year you might just come home and find your pantry raided.

 

Thats not southern ontarian crazy either LOL!

I get that....I've talked to people who are completely paranoid, and out to lunch but IMO

There is a vast difference between a bear munching on your garbage and a wild bear out in the stix Just say'n

 

 

YYYYyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppp what he said