You Can't Make This Stuff Up!! or Can You??

Mama!! Mama!! Than THE Defiant One :)

This evening I saw a mama bear w/three teeny-tiny cubs and snapped a few pictures from my sunroof - hoping one will come out (2 out 10 passable. Painful, I know).

It was awesome. One of the cubs wouldn't move away from my car. I got to watch mama teach the cub to move, get out-of-the-way, RUN!!, whatever.

It was simpatico. Mama knew I wasn’t going to run over her cub and kept coming back to my car - trying to teach her wayward one that he/she MUST get out of the way.

The look on Mama bears face was just so intelligently loving and beautiful. Not any different than I've seen human parents trying to impart an important life-lesson upon their own young.

Mama greeting her wayward, overly curious cub.

"You've got to come - when I tell you to come!!"

~ Yes, Mama ~

"Geez Mama, the car smelled like cheetos...and... and... Mama, the car stopped... why do you worry so?"

"Not all cars will stop. And if they do - most likely they won't be kind."

Bedhead Bears

If I recall correctly, these two bears appeared when my neighbor's grandson was taking groceries into the house around 3pm.

He turned around and there they were!!

(Once again, bears are extraordinarily quiet.)

Joe jumped into the back of their SUV and closed the hatchback. The bears not phased - investigated a bit further then wandered off. Once they left the immediate area - Joe ran into the house to the expert bear photograph - Grandma.

Grandma took these from her deck and Joe said they were playing & rough housing with each other. 'It was so cool.'

New friends? a new mate? two teenagers recently turned out by their mum? We'll probably never really know. I do remember the huge smile on Joe's face when he was telling us about his encounter.

When I first saw the photos, my first thought was - these are some mangy looking bears. Their fur looks like they just got out of bed - hence the title Bedhead Bears.

This is for Christina - Rosie's Mum

Christina is Bo's benefactor. I always say Bo was a 'gift from the Airedale Gods' (aka Moxie & Buster, my former Airedales ~ RIP their mischievous souls). Albeit, Christina made the earthly connection happen and put Bo & I together thru Southern States Airedale Rescue . His story I'll tell someday, but, today is about Rosie, Christina's Airedale and passion.

She recently lost Rosie to congestive heart failure. I really don't know all that much about Rosie, the one mtg we had planned ended up with a blown out tire and I had to turn around and forego the trip.

(I still laugh about it ~~ Bo in his 'newness' had an accident in the house the same day we left for Christina's and my BRAND NEW TIRE blew out half way there. So there's Bo & I standing on the side of a major highway waiting for the tire repair guy and I can tell Bo is thinking "I had one confused accident and you drive me 600 miles away to reinforce not to do it in the house - ok, I give, never again.")

abcede

I suspect Rosie must have been the 'hostest w/the mostest'. Being that her mum organized many a fosters, adoptions and rescues of Airedales. Rosie, I imagine was much like my Moxie - 'let me show you my place - don't touch tho, get comfortable enough to heal, but hey, this is still my place - R E S P E C T is my middle name' and would initiate the displaced Airedale with love, but let them know their place with a touch of 'tough love'. Hey, plain and simple - its dogspeak. They understand.

abcede

RIP Rosie in Rainbow Heaven, seek out my Moxie & Buster if you can, but I suspect there are many other Airedales awaiting to comfort you with the same love and care you accomplished on earth.

What's a Bear To Do?

This is today's bear proof trash can. Note: a bear has not raided this one yet. This is how it was left by one of our illustrious tourist.

Oh well, my guess is they weren't one of the luckier ones to see a bear in these parts or they would have respected the locking chain. (Look closely down the middle bar of the trash can.)

So, tell me, what is a hungry, wild bear to do in this circumstance? What would you do if you spent your day foraging for food and came across this gift?

Bo's Got a Rep

I took Bo out for his mid-morning walk and we ran across a bear. I spotted the bear prior to Bo getting a whiff. Most of the time Bo has his nose to the ground. Being the hound that he is.

BUT, this bear caught a whiff of Bo and put on his brakes, did the silliest 180 spin (black bear paws' tangling up and flying everwhere) and tore down the side of mountain.

Bo never knew he was there. When we got to the area the bear did his 180 - Bo high sniffed the 'aire', albeit it was a passing interest on his part.

We did have an audience tho. An entire family of about 10 folks was on one of the cabin's decks high up on the hill and thanked Bo for scaring the bear. It seems the bear had tried to get into their jeep and tore a hole in the side of the canvas top.

Note: When I'm out this time of year - during our walks I yell every so often (like a mad mtn women) 'Bo, tell the bears you're out here!! Woof!! Woof!!' Humaliting for Bo - but, I really don't want any more encounters than my heart can take.


Altho, this is what Bo thinks.

abcded
BTW... this post's bear picture is one of my neighbor's. It is not the bear we saw this morning. Altho, it's about the same size. A teenager.

Portrait of Black Bear in Fence

I'm so excited about this photo. Another one from my neighbor. But, with this one I was involved. This was prior to Memorial day and I was still gauging whether Bo could be let outside, chaperoned by me of course, off-leash or the presence of bears was so prolific that he had to be leash at all times.

This was one of those days he was off-leash. Luckily for me, he immediately went to his gully to start sniffing and whatnots. I looked over at one of the cabins down the road and lo' and behold' there's a bear sniffing and whatnots at the cabin's bearproof trash can. I immediately called and leashed Bo (he's such a good boy) and then ran over to my neighbor's house and almost banged down the door knocking.

'There's a bear, there's a bear"

"Where" she responded

"Over there"

(This cryptic understood conversation between neighbors takes years to develop. She knew exactly what I was communicating - 'Get Your Camera'. You gotta love her.)

She ran back inside and got her camera. At this point, Bo realizes what all the excitement is about and starts barking at the bear. The bear realizing Bo is on leash (I know they know when he's leashed vs off-leash - I'll explain later - just remember in these parts that all the animals know. They're smarter then anyone wants to give them credit for.) -- bear ignores Bo, but decides to casually leave the area.

My neighbor with her many years of bear photography expertise snaps this excellent portrait shot of one of our bears. Whilst calling the neighbor where the bear is located. So talented.

Isn't it fabulous? Look at that face!! and the picture perfect surroundings.

Today's Black Bear Video

This youtube includes a well composed acoustical guitar and song performed by Van Wagner. If you appreciate nature and are fascinated by black bears I know it will touch you.

Today's Bear Proof Trash Can

Here's today's bear proof trash can. The reason I post these, besides a lack of an actual bear pictures, is to relate the shear power the bears have. NOTE THE FOOTERS OF THE TRASH CAN. This trash can was pulled out of the ground, concrete footers and all, and knocked around like a Tonka Toy by a hungry bear. Not to mention that our cabin maintenance folks then had to retrieve if from the gully Bo is standing in, clean it up and upright it in its original location. (I wonder how that would be worked into a resume - 'facilitated the cleaning of bear damage without bailout money to maintain the ambiance and economy of the area').

Remember Black Bears are WILD ANIMALS, not feral, but wild animals who spend most of their day looking for food. DO NOT FEED THE BEARS. Between the bear proof trash and their natural food sources - berries, nuts, roots and the occasional carrion they have plenty of food.

If you should feed them, sometimes they appear appreciative and docile, but in reality you are endangering them, as well as yourself. Once they associate humans with food, you put your life and theirs in danger. They will never get enough of the human food you may think you are innocently adding to their diet. They may become disappointed with the amount of food given. And you don't want them demanding more.

Most importantly, once deemed by the wildlife management folks as 'too accustomed to humans' - they will be killed. They may tell you that they'll relocate the bear - but that's just a nice way of saying - relocating to them to bear heaven.

R E S P E C T..... O U R......B E A R S!!!
They do try to respect you!!

Resting Bear Cub

Here's a bear cub who decided to hang out and rest a bit. Again, we must thank Dolores for this picture of her Bears. Isn't he a cutie !??!??!

Today's Bear Proof Trash Can

We call him Bruno

We rarely see the big, BIG Black Bears. My theory is if they live long enough to get this big they know how to interact with humans. By staying out of sight.

This is another one of my neighbor's many pictures. Let's take a moment to thank her for her werewithall and presence of mind to snap a picture.

When these guys walk thru the hood, most folks are running for their cabin, slaming doors and calming their nerves. Then as a second thought they try to locate their camera, hope the batteries aren't dead, and oh, how does this thing work again. By then the bear is long gone.

You would be amazed how fast they are... even in a casual stride. But, the thing that amazes all of us is how quiet they are.

Bo 'TREED" his first bear this week....

Bo 'treed' his first bear this week. Oh how proud can an Airedale be!!! Details to come. The story is actually quite amusing. Seeing that Bo surprised the bear (and mommy (moi)) during the Black Bear's mid-morning nap. All are ok!! Again, details to come -- no pictures tho. The tourist with the camera took off before I could give him my personal contact card.

Pictures!! Pictures ~ Albeit too Dark Pictures

My neighbor finally consented to giving me some pictures of HER black bears. She's lived up here for more than 20yrs. Prior to bear proof trash cans and has so many wonderful stories to relate.

For now, here's a scan of one of her pictures.

For size reference - wooden bear proof trash cans run about 50"h x 60"w. So this guy on all four paws is about 4 ft tall. Standing up.... your guess is as good as mine.

BTW... for technical folks any help in converting traditional photos from a scanned photo to a .jpg would be helpful. Just for the machines to scan this picture and a bit of fireworks editing takes a half hour per picture

Bear Proof - Ha!!

Here's a picture of the aftermath of a bear proof trash receptacles - ha! ha!

Another Previous Black Bear & Airedale Encounter

We had some major excitement last night. Not sure if I mentioned to you the bear we keep coming across on our nightly walk, and the bear scampers up the mtn and most importantly - respectfully out of the way. Well yesterday evening, I saw the bear just in time. He was standing on the edge of one of the cliffs about to approach the road Bo and I were on!! Bo, for some reason didn't notice him before I did - so I was able to prepare for the inevitable leash pull. Well kind of. The bear didn't scamper this time. He just walked right out onto the road - 40ft away and right in front us. I'm like WTF.

Bo is suddenly aware of the bear and starts acting like it's another dog he wants to meet. No barking, no high sniffing nor tracking; such as when he's trying to catch a whiff of the chipmunks, bunnies, squirrels, turkeys, whatever in the area. Just a whole lotta of yanking on the leash, play bowing, a bit of excited whimpering, and I'm thinking where the hell -- is the Airedale BIGBADBARK. WTF!!!

The bear starts moseying down the road - the road between me, Bo and our house. So between the books saying you must stand your ground with the black bears and there's really no place for us to go except down. I bark out my own BIGBADBARK. Hey Moxie, Buster and Bo respect it - but the bear just looks at me like I'm a crazy woman with a happy 'dale and continues down the mtn road right in front of us. So what do I do - we follow. Wondering, where's the tourist (aka bear paparazzi) when you need them.

The bear moseys down the mtn a bit, Bo and I follow a bit - the bear looks back - I stop - Bo's tugging on the leash like he's about to meet his new best friend. The 'dance' continues for a good 1/8 of mile AND then I realize the 40ft gap between us is narrowing. DAYAM, where's the bear paparazzi.

And finally, they show up. Snapping pictures, clicks, flashes and all. The bear slinks over the side of the mtn and we're saved. I walk quickly to our saviors. Who never realize Bo and I were 30ft up the mtn road whilst shooting their pictures. Thank them for coming by and we walk happily down the mtn after a few adorations of 'Oh, is that an Airedale - I haven't seen an Airedale since I was a youngster. Don't they hunt bear?'

(No, I say to myself from firsthand experience. )

This time I forewent letting Bo smell the "track" and made it back down the mtn with all the composure I could muster.

Vigilantly Searching for Black Bears

While I'm exploring the functionality of the blog, I'll be posting some items which don't have much to do with Black Bears.

To make this one somewhat black 'bearish', here's my Airedale vigilantly sniffing for black bears sitings from the comfort of our car.

Our first Black Bear EVER!!

In 2006, Buster, my Airedale at the time (RIP), & I were taking our midnight walk and ran across a bear - oh my god - I heard about it, read about it, but didn't think we would walk right up on one. Buster had his nose to the ground and was tracking something; but, for all I knew it was one of the many bunnies that live up here. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the big black bear moseying around the front of one of the empty cabins. He was only 30ft away - my adrenaline kicked in and just like a car accident, everything went into slow mo and just like the zoom feature on a camera, there was the bear clear as day. (My mind was going BIG BLACK BEAR - oh sh*t, oh sh*t - BIG BLACK BEAR.)

Luckily, Buster was still tracking with his nose and didn't see the big guy. I immediately started talking really loud, but w/a calm tone (altho my heart was a fluttering), crumpling the empty poop bag, anything to let the bear know we were there (that's what the books say to do - well not to crumple the poop bag, but you get the drift) and backed into another empty cabin that has a very strong locking gate onto the deck.

I could see the bear acknowledge that we were in the area, he stopped, smelled the air, looked our way - but just stood there. (The bear is probably going oh sh*t, oh sh*t, big fat human with Airedale, don't they hunt bears - what's the crumpling noise - a MacD's bag.) Thank doG, everything I heard about black bears are they aren't too aggressive unless cubs are involved.

So there I stood behind the gate for a good 15 minutes, and unfortunately the porch light, so I wasn't able to see anything beyond the light. Buster was sniffing the 'aire' and getting as excited as an old dog can - promptly dropped 5yrs off his age. But not a peep, woof or growl out of him, just a lot of nose action and a few snorts. (Oh why, oh why do I have 'dales that hunt in stealth mode.) His nose is going a mile a minute and I'm chattering away like a crazy women.

Finally I got up the nerve to venture back out and except for Buster trying to adamantly track something into the woods, you would never known the bear was there. Never heard him leave, nothing. Geez, the bunnies make more noise than he did.



Buster (RIP his Mischievous Soul)

Introduction

I live in the Smoky Mountains and we're having quite a few Black Bear encounters this year - 2009. So I thought I'd share stories and whenever possible pictures of our encounters. Which this year is almost daily.

My other goal is to help educate folks about Black Bears. These are wonderful, intelligent, goofy and shy creatures. Albeit, WILD ANIMALS and must be respected.