I have to tell you what happened….
So it’s a normal Thursday morning and I’m returning from running some errands when all of the sudden I run into this guy right in my driveway! We live in a nice little neighborhood outside of town, but we’re not in the deep woods or anything. Well, this city slicker just about had a heart attack. I slammed on my breaks and just sat there in shock for a minute… then grabbed my cell phone and my camera out of my purse, but couldn’t figure out which one was the camera… I just drew a blank… finally I snapped to and tired to get a picture of the darn thing but my hands were shaking so badly and I couldn’t figure out why nothing was happening when I pushed the button, but then I saw that there was a warning message on my screen telling me that the dial was between two settings…. AAHHHH. It disappeared into the woods behind my house, but our next door neighbor was able to take this photo a little while later when it was in their yard. I have never seen a bear in the wild before and I certainly never ever expected to actually see one in my own driveway. Btw, it wasn’t phased by the sound of my van or my screeching tires at all… it just casually continued on his merry way. A neighbor 3 doors down called 6 hours later to say the bear was on her front porch looking at her through the glass sidelight. We didn’t see him yesterday, but I’m still worried about the kids in the neighborhood who walk to the bus stop.
That sounds seriously frightening to me!!! We saw quite a few wild bears when on holiday in Canada a few years ago and were warned not to go anywhere near them, I didn’t know there were any roaming around your part of the country, Patricia.
Wow! I see just about everything else on my property….deer, fox, coyotes, mountain lions, etc… but have yet to see a bear, though we do have them.
The best way to discourage hungry bears is to make sure garbage cans are well-secured and put away and pet food isn’t left down outdoors. If there’s no food to attract him he should move on. A call to Fish & Game or Animal Control isn’t a bad idea either.
time to make bear claws! keep us posted, what does your local police or zoo do on these cases?
The local police and animal control scoffed at me when I called and referred me to the game warden’s office, who suggested removing the bird feeders and such. They won’t do anything unless the bear becomes “trouble”.
We get bears in people’s yards semi-regularly up here in Western Mass., and I’ve never heard of anyone being attacked or hurt. However, I must admit it’s a bit creepy to come across one that’s so fearless and bold! Hope it finds food elsewhere and moves on.
Mona, the Bangalore Baker - 28 September 2008 01:14 PM
Last June I was sitting in my bedroom with the cats and a laptop, when TWACK something hit the window. It was a monkey. He was clinging to the monkey bars. In India, we have bars on all the windows to keep monkeys out. Anyhow, I almost had a heart attack. Then it moved to the balcony where the cats were drowsing in the sun. Cats were not happy. Big fur, growling, the lot. I yelled and got the cats in and went running through the house warning everyone and yelling at the servants to close the windows. If a monkey gets in your house, you are in for a huge mess. They can open all the cupboards, fridge, toilet, swing from the lights, you name it. Pests is what they are. However!!!! A BEAR is really scary!! I hope he doesn’t come back.
Oh my goodness…. I can’t imagine!!!!! Did you see the episode of Dirty Jobs when they went to visit a monkey refuge? They are nasty creatures!
Dirty Jobs is a great show that airs on the Discovery Channel - during each episode the host visits 2 or 3 different jobs, each of which are “dirty”... sewer worker, exterminator, pig farmer, etc. Here’s a 5 minute video of the episode with the monkeys. Enjoy!
What a cute little guy!
My grandparents lived in Montana. Their house was a two hour drive from Yellowstone. When we visited the big excursion was to feed the bears. We would stop at the grocery store and buy a box of Ritz crackers. Within a few miles of the park entrance would be bears sitting by the side of the road waiting to be fed. Grandpa would pull over and we had a grand time pushing crackers out of the windows.
Patricia, you are very brave. I would have passed out in my vehicle let alone trying to take a picture. I hope the bear never “visits” you again. It is cool though that your neighbour was able to take a picture.
Sigh…. I tend not to panic in emergency situations, HOWEVER…. that was not the case in this situation! I don’t know if I was officially panicking, or if I was just in total shock, but I’m telling you my heart just about jumped out of my chest…. and I drove in up and down the street for 5 or 6 minutes before I dared to drive up the driveway…. just to be sure he was gone. Then I made sure the garage door was completely closed before I got out of my vehicle. Spent the following hour looking out all the windows trying to find him… gulp!... like I said… I’m a city slicker through and through… I had never seen a bear outside of the zoo before that day.
