This Time I Bearly Missed A Picture
I was sitting at my computer at about 8:30 last night, when my housemate, Amy, came rushing in the front door, disheveled and a bit breathless.
"Bear!" she cried. "Look out the office window. Big brown bear."
I rushed to the window, camera in hand, but saw no bear.
Amy was finally able to tell her story. It was a balmy evening, and she'd lain in the grass to do some stretches. She turned her head toward the back of the yard, and there, standing in the tall grass, at most only 75 feet away, was a large brown bear.
Amy was doing her stretches on this section of yard. Scat pile in the background
Perhaps the wind was in Amy's favor, and the near-sighted bear peered in her direction, trying to figure out what she was.
She slowly stood up and started backing toward the fenced yard around the house. She'd left one gate open at the west end. She realized she should be heading for that gate, so started moving in that direction.
The bear had apparently not gotten a clear look at her, because when she stood up, the bear startled and ran part-way up the big cottonwood behind the tall grass.
When she made the gate, he was still up the tree. Once she got in the yard and got the gate closed, she ran for the front door.
This is the cottonwood tree where the bear climbed after he ran
If you and a bear should meet, you are supposed to back away, not turn and run. If you do the latter, the bear will reach you before you get far. Always keep your eyes on him. Once in the yard, and with the bear treed, Amy could run for the door.
We didn't see the bear again. I'm so glad Amy reached the house safely. However, wish I'd gotten a picture. Amy says she was yelling my name as she came through the yard, hoping I'd get a picture. I didn't even hear her.
So, was it a brown bear? Amy says his fur looked golden in the light. It could have been a cinnamon bear, which is a subspecies of the black bear, and appears brown. A couple of years ago, I drove by my next-door neighbor's house and saw a very large cinnamon bear sitting in her driveway.
I have a feeling it was a brown bear, though, as I heard a couple of days ago that two brownies had been seen in our area. Usually, we see only black bears, which are not quite as dangerous as the brown ones.
Perhaps he marked my driveway and backyard with his scat as he's a newcomer and was staking out a territory. I hope not.
Getting closer to that picture. The summer is not over yet.
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Great story -so glad it ended well!
The brown bear in Alaska is a sight to see
He's as big as a house and he's covered in fur
He lives in the woods and he loves to eat
He's the king of the forest and he's ready to fight
When he roars, you'll know it's time to hide
But it's also a sight that you'll never forget
The mighty brown bear of Alaska.
Glad she got away and made it inside!
Bears are not seen in large numbers near where I live - but the national forest and plenty of wooded areas are close enough that we do see a few now and again.
Many years ago I was deer hunting deep in the woods - and stayed in a little too long. It began to get dark and I was racing to get out of the woods before everything turned pitch black (and I had no light of any kind on me).
I never saw what it was but something large was stalking me for the last mile or so out - and at the time I was sure it was a bear. Few things in life have ever had my heart rate that high - before or since.
Best regards,
L.D. Sewell
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Oh I didn’t know you had a housemate Fran. Glad she was ok. We just saw a big black bear here last night. It is the first time we have seen one since we moved here 5 years ago. We see them when driving but never here in the neighborhood. My husband happened to step out onto the porch and was calling me to come. By the time I got there I only saw it for a few seconds as it walked down a side street. Later we saw it on our security cameras. It had walked right by our building just shortly before we saw it further away. We both grew up in the bush with bears but it’s a good reminder they can be anywhere.
We had sled dogs in the bush though so no bear could ever sneak up on us!
Jessica
Amy has only been here a couple of months.
No more bears, but had moose in my yard yesterday. I like seeing the wildlife from a safe spot.