Enormous Black Bear in front yard last night

[DeepseekerADS]

I was in bed last night around 11:00 drifting into sleep and Cousin Sharon ran in from the porch said there was a bear in the yard. I put some pants on and went down and looked out the front, and at the very edge of the porch light range I saw the silhouette of the bear walking from the old chimney down towards the walnut tree. It looked like it was the size of a VW Beetle! Sharon's dog was raising hell. Good gracious that thing was big.

It's the first one I've seen since I moved here. The size of that beast, I'll be re-considering my freedom to walk down my kilometer long driveway to the mailbox now.

I looked up how large they could get to be, and read that males can reach as much as 1,000 lbs.

Holy Toledo!

 

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[Tpmetal]

Yeah they mostly leave you alone though. Only worry about mothers and cubs, bears in the spring, and young male black bears. These account for most attacks. other than that just act big and make loud noises, my personal favorite is to light off a few rounds from the shotgun to send the message home(not at them just to scare them)

 

[smokeythecat]

I had a little one here some years ago. Chased it from the garbage cans, but they can get HUGE.

 

[dsdigger]

I agree with Tpmetal. As long as there are no cubs and it is not sick, it is more likely to give you a wide berth. Have had run ins on Skyline Drive while sitting in a picnic area as a black bear came out of the bushes and skirted the area and went around and out the other end. Was big enough to cause great damage to me and my girlfriend and would have had us long before we could have made the car. Just stayed up tall and between it and her and made no move to threaten it. Wonder if your bear is down looking for food or just travelling through the area and may be gone in a few days. Keep the trash hidden and sealed and not around the house. Watch leaving food in coolers, etc.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I don't pick fights with anything but the copperheads. And I do not hunt. I consider myself and my land as a critter sanctuary. While I was away working, Mom had sent me pictures of a mother & cub out playing under our 200+ year old pear tree. That tree is bearing fruit again this year, where by the end of last season I thought the tree was dying.

So, as fall nears we'll be seeing the critters out there under the tree again!

Mom puts our leftovers in a steel pot in the back yard. One morning that pot was bent nearly in half. Now I know what did that! The possums & raccoons couldn't have bent that pot!

I knew bears lived on the ridge behind the house, but I never thought I'd see one that large.

 

[Slingshot]

We have them around here too and I have bees, not a good mix. Their fur is so thick and matted that it will stop 00 buck like a Kevlar vest. No telling what might set one off, though I've seen an old man run one off with a broom, but I wouldn't recommend that. Just in case of a bad interaction with one I keep an old 8mm Mauser at the ready, just hope I can get to it in time. You can't outrun them as they have been clocked at 35 mph, have been known to kill and eat humans, and they climb trees too. Good luck!

 

[Tpmetal]

We have them around here too and I have bees, not a good mix. Their fur is so thick and matted that it will stop 00 buck like a Kevlar vest. No telling what might set one off, though I've seen an old man run one off with a broom, but I wouldn't recommend that. Just in case of a bad interaction with one I keep an old 8mm Mauser at the ready, just hope I can get to it in time. You can't outrun them as they have been clocked at 35 mph, have been known to kill and eat humans, and they climb trees too. Good luck!

I have bees and some cattle/horse electric fence keeps them at bay. I have also electrified my bird feeder. In the past 20 years there have only been like 25 deaths from black bears in north america. Not really as common as one thinks.

 

[releventchair]

Sigh.
Can't even walk through at night without getting harassed.
Dang humans...
Blackie don't want your mail Deep. Don't worry about checking the box.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I went out just now looking to see if I could find any tracks. It's all grassy under the tree, but when the lawn slopes sharply and is a bit less grassy, I found what I think is a track. The foot was sliding a bit, but I did see an impression of 4 toes - very difficult to see in the picture, but I'm worthless at taking pictures to begin with. The track is over 5" wide.

 

[Slingshot]

Geesh!! That's about 2x as big as the tracks I've seen around here. Definitely a big bruin!

I went out just now looking to see if I could find any tracks. It's all grassy under the tree, but when the lawn slopes sharply and is a bit less grassy, I found what I think is a track. The foot was sliding a bit, but I did see an impression of 4 toes - very difficult to see in the picture, but I'm worthless at taking pictures to begin with. The track is over 5" wide.

View attachment 1481395

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I hate to keep talking about this crap....

I went around the back of the house and found this scat, looks like pushing a gallon's worth:

 

[releventchair]

I hate to keep talking about this crap....

I went around the back of the house and found this scat, looks like pushing a gallon's worth:

View attachment 1481410 View attachment 1481411 View attachment 1481412

On the bright side...no clothing , or partially digested bear spray container in it.

 

[dsdigger]

Hello Mister bear! Big paw prints, big piles. Yeah, looks like it must be enjoying the pears and what other easy picks are around. Be careful, watch for cubs, make lots of noise while out and if you must go armed for safety, carry a large caliber gun. Shoot one with a .22 and all you'll do is piss it off!

 

[FC-Treasure]

Have had run ins on Skyline Drive while sitting in a picnic area as a black bear came out of the bushes and skirted the area and went around and out the other end.

LOL, my last black bear encounter was on Skyline Drive. It really scared my daughter, so much so that we had to end our hike early. They are pretty common though in our area. (Southern Leesburg, North of Middleburg). In my old neighborhood we had a resident bear who was climbing fences, eating dog food, swimming in the subdivision's fishing pond, etc. I have to say, I did change my jogging route after the bears showed up... No more jogging alone in the woods... Probably irrational, but I could just envision myself running around a corner, listening to music, zoning out, and not noticing bears on the side of the path...

 

[VERDE]

Hey ADS!! Lock the door and Get Back in Bed!! He He!! Anyway, GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!

 

[Slingshot]

Hello Mister bear! Big paw prints, big piles. Yeah, looks like it must be enjoying the pears and what other easy picks are around. Be careful, watch for cubs, make lots of noise while out and if you must go armed for safety, carry a large caliber gun. Shoot one with a .22 and all you'll do is piss it off!

Depends on where you put that tiny .22 bullet. Bella Twin killed the worlds record grizzly bear in 1953 with a .22 long, not long rifle, and that bear is still the biggest ever killed in Alberta, Canada. https://www.ammoland.com/2014/11/wh...a-world-record-grizzly-in-1953/#axzz4pI0mySi0

 

[Nitric]

Hey, Deepseeker! On one of our last camping trips we heard a "growl' just down the hill from us. Her and I tripped over each other getting in the truck! haha I've never heard anything like it in the woods. Whatever it was you could hear air, like it was deep, and big. We were told there is no bear in that area, but I wonder.
We sit out there with just the moon light some nights, hear all kinds of things. The last trip we weren't as jumpy were getting use to the noises. Never heard the growl again. But we did just happen to shine a light on a bobcat, that was cool, he was pretty much gone as soon as the light hit it though. It wanted nothing to do with us. haha

 

[Oregon Viking]

DeepseekerADS didn't you mention that your property borders wilderness?.
Our acreage borders 1.8 million acres so like you we get bears.... but not that big!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Hey old friend There's nothing behind me except the lumber companies and whoever goes up about the 10 miles up to the top behind me. This is big stuff, tried to walk back there in the 70's with an old friend, ridge after ridge and we gave up = had nothing left in us to go further.

 

[Oregon Viking]

Hey old friend There's nothing behind me except the lumber companies and whoever goes up about the 10 miles up to the top behind me. This is big stuff, tried to walk back there in the 70's with an old friend, ridge after ridge and we gave up = had nothing left in us to go further.

I hope you are heavily armed like me. Are you sure it was a black bear? That beast is Grizzly sized!