How Close IsToo Close

submarinesailor · February 12, 2008, 10:06:44 AM

Is this close enough for you guys.

We got up one morning and found this young one in the front and side yards.

Here he/she is coming towards the side pouch.

In this one, it is standing on an oak door that Iwas building the day before. If you look just in front of it's right paw. You can see one of the hinges.

Talking down the side pouch, headed for the back of the house. Notice the flower stand on the other side of it.

Feeding on wild mint back by the power conection of the field pump.

Is this close enough or too close? BTW - the wife was taking the pictures, so don't get after me for the quality.

Bruce

Tom · February 12, 2008, 10:16:15 AM

Do you reckon that Bear meat and wild mint makes it gormet?

sawguy21 · February 12, 2008, 10:21:06 AM

I don't imagine momma was too far away.

submarinesailor · February 12, 2008, 11:59:20 AM

Tom,

You know something that is funny. I see bears all the time when it is out of season, most of the time it's during black power deer season. But as soon as black power bear season opens up, I don't see other one until early the next summer. Also, Virginia changed one of their game laws to where you can no longer feed/bait any animal after the 5th of September.

Bruce

WILDSAWMILL · February 12, 2008, 04:49:11 PM

if that was in my yard id be eating it for supper regardles of the time of year got to be safe in ones own yard

woodworker9 · February 13, 2008, 02:18:26 PM

Quote from: Tom on February 12, 2008, 10:16:15 AM
Do you reckon that Bear meat and wild mint makes it gormet?

Heck, ya, it does. I was up in Manitoba fishing a few years back. A very large black bear broke into the shore lunch station, and drank a 5 gallon bucket of Canolla oil like it was a can of beer. The purveyor of the lodge was called by the guides, and he shot it. We had bear steaks for dinner a couple of nights later. His wife made a mint type of jelly/sauce for it, and wow 8) 8) was it tasty!!
SS
Be careful!! It's my understanding that once they find a source of food they like, they'll just keep coming back.

Coon · February 13, 2008, 02:28:15 PM

Bear meat is very tasty providing one knows how to prepare it.

Used cooking oil is used along with oats as baiting material for bears around here. It don't take them long to come into the baits once they smell that oil.

WDH · February 13, 2008, 02:33:20 PM

That bear appears real thin in the photos. I bet he/she is just real hungryand does not represent a real threat unless cornered. He/she is just trying to make a living too........

sawguy21 · February 13, 2008, 04:01:27 PM

That cub has just come out of hibernation and you are right, he or she is hungry. Trouble is, momma is too and probably grumpy to boot. :D

isawlogs · February 13, 2008, 05:33:38 PM

Bears are a food group to me , I always have room in one of the freezers for a food group . ;) ;D

submarinesailor · February 13, 2008, 07:26:29 PM

These pictures were taken in the middle of summer. This is the one that would not leave, even when I blew one of those 130db compressored air horns at him.

He keep laying down in the moss patch about 30 yards from the house and sleeping.

He did have bare places on his sides and back. I think he was real sick. smiley_sick I believe that's why he was feeding on the wild mint. Look at his right rear paw. Looks awfully funny.

BTW - He left in a big hurry after I started walking towards him blowing the air horn. Not at first, he just picked his head up and looked at me as I was walking towards him with the air horn just ah going. But, he had other places to be when that .44 mag cleared his head by about 6 inches. He was gone in a big hurry after that.smiley_horserider Never came back nether.

Bruce

zopi · February 13, 2008, 07:31:52 PM

We really don't see them down here...over in the Dismal swamp some maybe...we're buried in deer here...i think you have to have a license not to hunt them....

Bear is good, unless they have been eating garbage...

I like caribou...no nutrition..but broiled with a little salt pork...MMMMMMM!

Polly · February 13, 2008, 09:05:05 PM

8) 8) the state hauled some in a truck in north east ky they probly are wired they say rhey migrated from virginia kind of a long walk dont you think :D :D 8)

thecfarm · February 13, 2008, 09:15:55 PM

That is a little too close for me.I've only seen one bear and that was at 40mph.I have never seen one before and took me a minute to figure out what it was.It crossed the road in front of me.

Mooseherder · February 13, 2008, 10:43:22 PM

We were on our last day of Vacation a few years ago sitting on the Front porch of the camp in Maine wishing we didn't have to leave in a few hours. This little Black Bear came out of the woods and started eating Strawberries. It is a very short video preceeded by a walk in the woods a few hours earlier. The video was in the car only a couple hundred feet away from the bear. We were lucky he let us get the camera out of the car. It is of poor quality but better'n nothin'. ;)

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UCneEfZ8l2s"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UCneEfZ8l2s" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

solodan · February 13, 2008, 11:35:07 PM

It's real easy to see a bear here. Just put anything edible outside. We have fat lazy bears here that eat so good they won't even hibernate sometimes. They used to knock the garbage cans over, now they just take the whole can out into the woods. >:(

submarinesailor · February 14, 2008, 05:50:44 AM

Quote from: solodan on February 13, 2008, 11:35:07 PM
now they just take the whole can out into the woods. >:(

Been there, done that. I have found my trash cans up in the woods several times. Three weeks ago they were out in the middle of the snow covered yard - trash all over the place.

Bruce

peter nap · February 19, 2008, 05:18:09 AM

Nice to see so many fellow Virginians here. These are a few of my buddies: 8)

[img width=500 --Photos MUST be in the Forestry Forum gallery!!!!!--.com/albums/aa57/peternap/DSC_0047.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 --Photos MUST be in the Forestry Forum gallery!!!!!--.com/albums/aa57/peternap/bearcuns.jpg[/img]

peter nap · February 19, 2008, 05:20:18 AM

Sorry, I forgot where I was .....the land of the picture maze

Brian_Rhoad · February 19, 2008, 01:19:41 PM

Here's my "How Close IsToo Close" bear story. About 8 years ago, during deer season, I was sitting on a big rock watching for deer about half way up the mountain behind my home. I heard a noise behind me in the leaves about a hundred yards up the mountain. When I first saw what was making the noise, I thought it was the neighbors black Lab. I kept watching it come closer a realized it wasn't a dog. I stood up on the rock and waved my arms and yelled at it. The bear stopped and looked at me and sniffed the air. He put his nose back to the ground and continued to come towards me. I yelled again and he stopped and sniffed the air again. By now he was about 20 yards away. He continued walking toward me, so I just stood still on the rock. There was a spring about 15 yards past the rock and he was thirsty. When he passed the rock I could have reached out and touched him with my hand. I waited until he was drinking and got off the rock and slowly walked away. When he was done drinking he found my trail and started following me down the mountain. I just kept walking and watching him. There was a rock about the size of a basket ball I had walked past. When the bear got to the rock he sat down and rolled the rock over. I think he was looking for grubbs or something else to eat. He then started playing with the rock, rolling it back and forth like a ball. I decided I better head for home while he was busy playing and had forgotten about me. I'm about 5'8" tall and the bear was chest high. I would estimate him to be at least 600 lbs. We had seen him closer to home a few times. My neighbor has a video of him standing on his back legs looking into the hole of a bird house. The hole is 8' off the ground. Thats a big bear for this area. Wish I would have had a camera with me, but I don't know if I would have put down my gun to get a picture.