Did anyone hear about the black bear attacking the dog and woman? It was on the national news this morning. She lives down the street and around the corner from me. She didn't know her dog was crying out because of a bear. She thought he was just hurt on something. It was a pure accident on her part. They will be fine but it was a close call. We had one about 5 days ago, maybe the same one. He only dumped over one of my large metal urns but I really worry about him getting into my french doors. My little puppies went crazy that night he was here. We put more security lights around for safety for hubby goes out to the chicken house after dark every evening. We want to put an electric fence around the chickens but haven't had the time. Barb in Pa.
Wow! Be ultra careful Barb, and your husband, too. Beekeepers put a piece of bacon on the electric fence, because a bear's coat is so dense they don't feel the charge. However, they go for the bacon and their sensitive nose gets the full voltage.
After reading this post I went to wikipedia where there is some interesting info on bear attacks in North America. Bear sightings in our area are rare. I think a local sighting would be a bit unnerving. Bacon? How to make your bee hive unpopular with bears. Jerry
marlingardener, I never heard the bacon thing. I will keep that in mind. I had electric fence around my bird feeders I had in trees in my old house. It worked. We have some pictures of the sparks from the wire to the wet nose. Poor thing. Jerry, We have had 2 females, a yearling, and 4 cubs in our yard at one time a few years back. It makes for some scary thought. I almost hit one on my bicycle. He darted out in front of me on a highway. He tucked his rear end in, as I got closer and closer. We have bears all over the place all the time. When I go out, anytime of the day or night, I scan the whole area before I sep out of the door. This doesn't always help but it's a start. Barb in Pa.
Barb I saw a report of the bear attack near you. They interviewed the woman and showed her injuries. Lacerations on her head, four 5" long scratches on one of her rib cages, bite hand and bruises. Her dog had some wounds also. It said that both will recover ok. It was dark out and she had let her dog out to go potty before going to bed. Then she heard all the commotion in her back yard. She walked out on the deck and could see her dog near the chain link fence running back and forth, barking, growling, and yelping. So she walked off the deck into their dark back yard to see what was out there . Thats when she saw the bear attacking her dog and she ran toward the bear waving her hands and yelling. She managed to grab her dog away from the bear and thats when the bear turned on her. It knocked her to the ground but she jumped back up and raised her hands as high as she could and continued yelling really loud waving her arms. The bear broke off the attack and ran off. Later she learned that it was a mother bear with a cub. Oh my God. She could have been killed. Both she and her dog are very blessed to be alive. I know they always tell you to carry Bear Spray with you when you live in Bear country. We do have Black Bear in neighboring counties but have never had them show up around where we live. I pray we never do. I love wild life but not ones that could eat you.
WOW oh WOW!!! These animals are pretty scary to have around. Glad she wasn't hurt more, too bad they hurt as they were. Barb, stay safe. Get that fence up asap. You don't want to have to chase the bear out of the hen house. the worst I had to do was a skunk and that was BAD. I sent my son to the neighbors for a gun and it took WEEKS to get the smell out....can you imagine trying to shoo a bear out of there?
Oh boy...scary! I am always so alert when I walk my dog, especially this time of year. My neighbor had bear tracks in his back yard a few weeks ago, but none since.
I am glad your neighbor and her dog will be okay. Bear attacks are scary. A friend of mine who lives only 10 miles from me had a bear on her place yesterday. The neighbor next door to her saw it going into my friend's woods, and it was brown. Missouri has black bears, and I know people nearby who have had them come into their yards and do damage. Allegedly we do not officially have "brown" bears. My friend's neighbor did get a picture of its rump going into the woods. Two nights this past week, I have had some large animal moaning and howling kind of close by late at night. It was not doing it last night though. I think a bear could easily hike 10 miles or more for whatever they want.
