Bears!

[GeezerOnLarkRd]

I would enthusiastically support this initiative. I lived and camped for 8+ years in Montana. Ran into more than one grizzly bear, but did not have any problems. Always kept my .44 magnum nearby (it takes too long for 911 to respond),  but I never needed it. It is invigorating to one's senses to realize that he or she is not necessarily at the top of the food chain! Wilderness without grizzlies is just a walk in the park.

[Leftfield]

The problem I see is that Yosemite draws all types of visitors - not just the seasoned campers.   It wasnt too long ago that Oprah decided to try out camping in Yosemite.  Now add a grizzlie into the mix with little kids who wants to feed and pet the bear and it will not turn out very pretty. 

And even if the grizzlies are introduced into the most remote part of the Eastern Sierras, they will migrate where the pickings are the easiest.  Of course that would be Yosemite where some folks will toss out goodies to the bears "thinking" that the poor grizzlies could use a little snack.

[GeezerOnLarkRd]

Both Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park have grizzlies in and around them. Sightings occur mostly in the back country. For some reason, grizzlies are less likely to visit campgrounds than are black bears. In any case, even though visitors come to these national parks from all over the US and from overseas, and although some visitors seem to believe that the term "park" implies that the wildlife is tame, there are almost no grizzly bear caused injuries. (Interestingly, each year there are more than a few bison and moose related incidents and injuries caused by people attempting to get close enough for a picture with these seemingly peaceful animals.)

[GeezerOnLarkRd]

So, this Sunday morning at about 1:30, the neighborhood dogs began barking in a distinctive manner. We looked outside and saw a fairly large black bear perched on our deck railing, about 15 feet from our back door. He'd climbed a tree and taken down a suet feeder that we had put up for the birds, and he'd opened the suet cage (without damaging it) and was enjoying the suet. I guess that this bear approves of Mtn Hardware's suet! I tried to use my cell phone to take some photos of the bear, but a dark bear on a dark night resulted in very poor photos. The bear did not seem bothered by my standing in the open door nor did he seem concerned by my dog who was staying very close by my side. When the bear finished the suet, he got off of our wooden deck rail, shimmied back down the tree, and leisurely wandered westward on Lark Road. Poor photographs, but a memorable incident.

By the way, later in the morning at about 7:00 AM, somewhere in the vicinity of Inspiration Point, I saw three mule deer does along with two spotted fawns.
What an enjoyable place in which we live!

[flybabyfly]

Yogi just knocked over our trash can. I guess he didn't approve of the dog poop we put in there and moved on. Sycamore and Blackbird

[Wrightwood]

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[TimG]

Great video. Camera quality is amazing these days.

[Wrightwood]

It's one lucky bear and alert driver. It was a lot closer call than shown.

[ForestGal]

Amazing pictures, John!  Did you capture that on live cam, or were you actually standing nearby filming that?

[Wrightwood]

After the bear walked through the backyard I was able to grab the big camera and shot photos/videos near the street. The pictures showing the bear crossing the street were from the security monitor.

[sagespirit]

Thank you so much, John. The photos and video are wonderful. Even though Bear was eating the apples, I can't help notice how skinny he looks. Very grateful for your work, and the driving of whomever managed to avoid hitting Bear.

[RobertW]

My question is, how come your apple trees are dropping near ripe apples?  Mine won't be ready until the fall.   

[Wrightwood]

sagespirit - I'm not sure that the bear is skinny as it is the middle of the summer.

http://www.americanbear.org/FUR.htm
Why does a bear's coat look different in the summer?
Bears molt annually in the early summer.  They shed both their underfur and outer guard hairs, leaving only a short, sleek summer undercoat.  Each individual molts at a different rate and in different ways.  Some bears will molt from the face backwards, while others do so in a more helter-skelter, all-over pattern.  Their new coat is growing in as the old one is being shed, so that by fall they have their thick, luxurious coats once again.   

Look at the fur at the end of May this year:



RobertW - We were wondering the same thing. Our apple tree sits on the west side of our house and is shaded 1/2 the day and does not ripen until Oct (no apples this year). The neighbors tree shown in the video is a grafted tree with 3 different varieties and has sun all day. The neighbor says the tree also has three separate harvesting periods.

[ezzpete]

i just saw my first bear (up here) after almost 11 years here. it was in one of the trash dumpsters that belong to the camp above Mountain High. you'd think they would have bear proof dumpsters, but nope. luckily my dog didn't see it, so we got out of there fast.

[sagespirit]

Ah yes, I forgot about the fact that bears molt. Should have remembered because all the mountain dogs, and Huskies I know are also molting or just finishing their cycle. Thanks for reminding me and putting up the other photo. Good question re: the apples, Robert. I was wondering the same thing since mine are across the street from yours. Very interesting info re: the grafted tree. Again, thanks much.

[SpeedRacer]

So almost every night this month 2-3 houses on my street have had their trash cans turned over with trash spread all over the place the next morning. I know it's inconvenient to use the latch but you have bear proof trash cans for a reason. Not latching them only encourages the bears to come into town and live off of people food. I'm just in awe of the fact that you want to continue cleaning this up every morning. 

[lagomorphmom]

Truer words never spoken.

[makgirl]

Call just dispatched on the scanner....bear trapped in garage of residence on Cedar, near Oriole....
Rennman went to check out...bear came out, then went back in....
5:41 update, bear out of garage.
Now he is up a tree.

[tinkbellblonde]

Any news on the bear above the club this afternoon?

[Wrightwood]

The bear made its way out of the garage and went up a tree for a while. When it came down it headed up the middle of the road to the West.