Monday 29 April 2013

What a surprise to see a bear in the backyard!

Don't feed them!
We had a bear amble by while we were eating dinner! There was a bear attack, when we lived there. They are very rare and they usually avoid humans. In all my forest walks I'd never seen one either here, in Lanark County, or in Muskoka. You just have to act like a human, they tell us. You should be bear wise in rural Canada.

Bear scat Lake Superior Park
This was a male cub, and I'm glad there wasn't any bird seed left. They have cut bear programs at the MNR, and they don't capture and remove them any more. Tourists just have to stop leaving garbage out! They are attracted to all kinds of food. You can see their food cycle here.
I've never seen one around here before, although we've seen signs of them! All cats were in, thankfully, as Daisy & Buster like to charge the deer and the turkeys. Their rear paws look like human feet. The scat is HUGE!

Ironically, it walked right by the 'bear crossing' sign!
TO REPORT BEAR PROBLEMS: contact the Bear Reporting Line at:
1-866-514-2327  (TTY) 705 945-7641

In a life-threatening emergency, call your local police or 911.

My bear sign!


Backyard bear from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
We had just sat down to dinner. I'm glad all of the cats were in, as they tend to charge the deer and chase the turkeys. I don't know WHAT they would do if they saw a bear. Buster was in the Muskoka room watching.








curriculum
More...

Black Bear Ecology - Teacher Guides

With a focus on the fascinating world of black bears, this program provides teachers with a classroom ready resource. More...

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10 comments:

eileeninmd said...

I think I would be thrilled to see a bear in my yard. I assume it is hungry and going after food in your bird feeders. Cool photos.

Red said...

It must be quite a thrill to see something like this amble through your yard.

Anonymous said...

Wow - a black bear. How amazing!

And thank you for hosting Our World. Just a little wondering - it would be lovely if you could reverse the order of our entries on Our World so that the latest entries appear first rather than last. This would mean everyone would have a chance to appear at the top of the list when they first link up... Just a suggestion!

Karen said...

Isn't he a beauty!

Lovable Derek said...

Great photos and a very dramatic post. Thanks.
I can't imagine what it must be like to see a bear behind
... the house.

Have a great week.

Unknown said...

Haven't seen any this year!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Olga said...

We have seen the occasional bear in the back, one that has wandered off the main corridor over the hill to the east. It looks like yours stopped to investigate. Wonderful opportunity for some stunning pictures.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

He's cute...but I am very glad all your domestic critters were safe inside. You live in a Nature Park!

Unknown said...

What a surprise! I recently discovered a fellow (Mike Mcintosh) near Huntsville via facebook who has a Bear Sanctuary. His website is :
http://bearwithus.org/. If you have access to facebook he has a fantastic page that posts some very interesting stories and photos about his bears. Evidently when the MNR gets a call about an injured bear, he is the person they call.
https://www.facebook.com/Understanding.Bears?ref=br_tf

Jenn Jilks said...

Yes, Art, I have seen that page! We need it since MNR cutbacks have severely impacted the Bear Wise program.