Bear!

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There are occasional bear sightings in our area, but I have yet to see one in person. Yesterday Shawn texted me that their bird feeder was damaged, and the bucket of seeds was opened and out on the grass. Her conclusion was that a bear had been on their porch during the night. As I walked in the morning, I noted that Joyce’s bird feeding station was flat on the ground and wondered if the bear had knocked it down.

It was much later that I sat down to look at the videos from my porch camera. It had rained all during the night, so the movement of rain and flying insects caused the camera to take a new video about every 15 seconds. It was mind-numbing to look at each one. I sat up straight when I saw a pair of eyes coming toward me on the screen. Yes! It was the bear! The time stamp showed 2:43 am. I looked carefully at many of the videos before and after that one, but I saw no other activity.

Late last night shortly before midnight, I sent the video to all the neighbors for whom I had a telephone number. The first response was almost immediate. Shawn commented on the size of the bear and was happy I’d caught it on camera. The next message was after 9 in the morning. Joyce hoped the bear was just passing through. D. said the bear pulled out the grease pan from their grill behind the house, but it left the front bird feeders alone. Holly joked that the bear was hungry, and she could throw it leftover pizza. Cindy said she would like the bear to stay at our end of the subdivision. Pizza might have that effect.

We are more likely to see a deer than a bear. Yesterday Shawn said they had just seen 15 deer cross the road in front of them. Grandson David and I saw two several months ago, and that was my best sighting.

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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44 thoughts on “Bear!”

  2. Holy cow! Well you can’t say that now, and he’s a big one! Exciting and a little scary, but something to tell your friends and family!! I hope he doesn’t cause any real harm. Be wary on your walks please!!

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  4. When I was working up in Alaska, there would be bear sightings in Anchorage all the time. It sounded totally counterintuitive, but I was told if I encountered a bear, I should be LOUD or maybe even start singing because bears don’t really like humans. Also, keep trash cans secured so bears can’t get into them.

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  8. I completely understand going through windy or rain videos and the excitement of seeing something. We gave away all our bird feeders and are trying to be vigilant about the grills grease trap because they’d tear the screen to get to it. Nice capture.

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  10. My sister in TN doesn’t hang bird feeds because she doesn’t want to attract bears. They still get occasional visits. Please be careful, especially if you have to let Kacey out when it is still dark.

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  11. So Yogi dropped in the say hello. I think It’s searching for whatever people are leaving about. It must have come out of denning. 

    I hope they don’t shoot the poor thing.

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    1. Bears dislike being around humans and usually avoid us. It’s very dangerous if you get between a mother and her cub. I don’t intend to do that, preferring to sleep through bear visits.

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  13. That’s a little too close for comfort. I remember you posted about black bear sighting a few years ago – down the road or near the dump where you take your trash. One of the meteorologists on my radio station lives in Pennsylvania and put out the large vertical hummingbird feeders and had a security camera like you and when he went out to go to work one morning, saw the feeder on the ground and a black bear on the camera footage had tipped the feeder up and was slurping from it. He called Animal Control and they located the bear, tranquilized it and took it to a large wooded area.

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  14. I didn’t know that bird feeders could attract bears. They are clumsy things and very cute – but at a distance of course. I am conflicted about bears. Do they roam near houses because their usual food sources and habitat have vanished due to encroaching development or are they adapting to more easily obtainable food sources?

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    1. I live very close to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, a huge forested area full of wild animals. The animals don’t observe the boundary lines. Bears, as well as elk, often wander out. Bears like to hunt here, and elk prefer the next town, Maggie Valley.

      I presume bears eat seeds meant for birds. They go for various seeds in the wild, so why not domesticated seeds? I’m being silly, but the bears don’t read the nutrition labels.

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      1. Hee hee. Thanks Anne. Of course the bears don’t read the labels. I have now learnt something about the diet of bears. Not many bears aroun dhere so I have up to this point, remained ignorant of their feeding habits.

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  15. Wow! I thought the bear looked big in the initial picture, which I did not realize at first is a video. there is something eerie, unnerving and interesting about seeing those eyes coming at you, before it veers off to see other things. Trusting you don’t take walks at night!

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  16. What aNice video clip . Beautiful 🐨! I hope he doesn’t cause any real harm. Be wary on your walks please!!

    God bless,Kim!

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    1. Bears will tear things up to get to food. This one bent the neighbor’s bird feeder, but I think Bob can fix it. Because of bears, we all keep garbage inside the house until we take it to the community dumpster nearby.

      The bears generally roam about only in the middle of the night. They don’t like humans and avoid contact with us. I’m told if you happen to find yourself near a bear, make as much noise as possible to scare it away.

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  19. I have been taking my seed feeders and hummer feeder in at night since the sighting so they are not tempted to return! It’s a bother but I don’t want them depending on my seed! Pass on dear bear!! Pass on!

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