We had a visitor last night, a large one. A black bear pulled my big sunflower seed feeder down from the spruce tree and was enjoying a snack. Fortunately for him I had just filled the feeder before dark. The long, manufactured, double hook the feeder hangs from is not flimsy by any stretch of the imagination. My buddy had taken the dog out and the dog headed straight for the tree. He flies out the door and over to that tree during the day to scare the squirrels, chipmunks and birds as if it is his job. I really think the dog is nearsighted. He would have trotted right up to the bear to sniff him.
My buddy saw the bear, just a shadow because there were no outside lights on, and frantically started calling the dog back. Luckily, at that same moment, I went out to put a bag of trash in my buddy’s truck and when I realized what was happening, started calling the dog, too. We rushed the dog into the house using our voices. What a panic! Lol!
Meanwhile, all of the ruckus frightened the bear and he climbed up the tree. My buddy came in, grabbed a big flashlight and we returned to the porch to watch the bear after he came back down the tree to continue eating seeds. He was not aggressive at all. He was about 3-4 years old and while standing on his hind legs he looked close to five feet tall. What a beautiful and potentially dangerous animal! I’m going to have to take all of the feeders in at night so that he does not become used to being here. He needs to retain his fear of humans.
