Another varmint

Well, the bird feeder stand has been plenty sturdy enough to hold up to raccoons climbing all over it, but one night it definitely met it's match...



I don't know which I might be more concerned with bending that pole like that: A bear, or the dreaded SQUIRRELZILLA!

Would have been nice to catch that little episode on the camcorder!
Andy :wavey:

He's baaaack!

















Connie found the bird feeders wrecked and two of the three poles bent over. So I checked the game cameras, and sure enough, our buddy is back. I'm surprised he didn't tear up the compost bin we have out near the garage.

I guess if he keeps on tearing up stuff I'm going to have to call animal control (or whatever it is around here) about him. But honestly, I think he's just passing through, and isn't really hanging around here. Apparently he walked on through here back in January, but didn't disturb anything that time.





To give you some idea of the size of this critter....

Didn't you have your "NO TRESPASSING" signs up Rich?

He's baaaack!



That pic was taken 1:00 am Saturday morning. It seemed like his cycle to make his rounds was getting shorter. Well, it's gotten a LOT shorter. I heard the driveway alarm about 1:30am this morning (Monday), so I had a hunch it was the bear. I scrounged up the night vision goggles I have laying around here and went out onto the front porch. Sure enough I saw him ambling across the yard headed for the bird feeders next to the house. I could hear him before I saw him, as he certainly wasn't trying to be very stealth like. And he IS pretty darn big. Made me a little nervous just standing out on the porch in my jammies. I'm not even sure having my .357Sig in my hand would have been any more comforting, neither.

I went into the bed room and woke Connie up, armed with an air horn to try to scare him away via the window looking out over the bird feeders, but I guess all the racket I made opening up the window was enough to chase him away. I put up a water based varmint deterrent earlier today that I've used in the past to keep deer away from the fruit trees to cover the bird feeder near the garage, so I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning whether that helped to protect that feeder from him. He might have just eaten it. And I coincidentally placed an order for an electric fence charger today, along with wire and other items, figuring I'll wire up the bird feeders and zap him to convince him that he needs to stop coming around here and wrecking the feeders. I'm guessing that when the fruit trees start bearing fruit he'll have a field day then, so I want to get him out of here before then.

Aw, C'mon Rich....he just wanted a little snack. Actually the bee farmers use those solar powered electric fences to keep them from destroying their hives. With good success I understand. But I believe the ones you plug into the wall are a bit more reliable and more powerful too.

I wouldn't mind his occasional snacking, but he's tearing things up. I've got a gash in the side of the shed because he, or another one, was trying to get at something there. The poles the bird feeders are on are beginning to look all twisted from being bent and then "straightened" again. Plus I've got to convince him that this isn't a good place to visit before the fruit trees begin putting out fruit. I'm sure he'll be breaking branches on those trees. He doesn't seem to be the most graceful animal in the world.

Well, we got a real good look at the bear this evening. Connie and I were watching a movie and we heard the alarm go off that I had set out facing the bird feeders. This was around 9:50PM. I wasn't going to check, as the last couple of nights around the same time the alarm went off and nothing was out there. But Connie jumped up to look, so what the heck. So when I got to a window in the bedroom and turned the flashlight on towards the bird feeder, I saw something, but for a moment I wasn't sure what the heck I was looking at. There was SOMETHING at the feeder but for an instant I just couldn't make out what it was.

It was the bear. I mean, it was the BEAR! It was sitting on the other side of the bird feeder so apparently he didn't see me walk up to the window. The flashlight was shining right on his belly and all I could make out was just some dark shape there. A BIG, WIDE dark shape. When I realized it was the bear, I was a bit taken back by his size. He was SITTING on the ground eating out of the bird feeder with NO problem. I'll have to measure that tomorrow to see how far off the ground it is. Here I was thinking the bear had to bend down the pole the feeders were on because he couldn't reach it very well. Heck, NOT a problem for him...... He probably didn't even notice bending that iron pole at all.

Anyway, I had to put down the flashlight to open the window, since it takes two hands, as I wanted to grab the airhorn I had sitting there to scare away any varmints. So after I made the blast and looked again, he was gone. Connie was at the other window in the bedroom and said he ran off at the blast, so at least he is leery of human contact.

Man, I was thinking that black bears really didn't get all that big, so this was QUITE a surprise seeing one REAL close up. Now I'm thinking I'm REAL glad he just didn't get pissed at the airhorn blast, because all that was between him and me was a piece of screen in the window. Heck, I don't think even the side of the house would be much of a barrier if he really wanted to get IN. I saw what he (or one like him) did to the side of our shed a while back.

Rich, go to Youtube and paste this link below in. I think you'll really enjoy this!


Saskatchewan Black Bear. Adrenaline At It's Best!

85vette said:

Rich, go to Youtube and paste this link below in. I think you'll really enjoy this!


Saskatchewan Black Bear. Adrenaline At It's Best!

Click to expand...

Yeah, I can see where being up in a tree with a pissed off bear could really ruin your day.

BTW, I put the tape measure to the bird feeder that the bear was feeding at last night and it's 4'10" from the ground to the lip of the feeder. So it looks like the bear was right around 5 ft. high while sitting on the ground. So how tall would that make him standing up on his hind legs?

I think it would be a safe bet that he was all of 7 feet or more. Probably a good 300 lbs too. I guess that pretty much takes care of the late night strolls huh? It amazed me how something that big could climb those trees so effortlessly. And I saw that pic you posted of the metal siding on your shed just shredded.....I still think I'd keep the shotgun handy in case he figures out you keep the bird feed in the house!

Yeah, I mentioned to Connie that it probably was a good thing we didn't have the windows open in the house. She had cooked up a turkey during the day, so the smell of that coming out of the windows might have been irresistible to the bear.

Shotgun, hell.... I've get an AR modified to shoot the .50 Beowulf cartidge next to the bed. :hehehe:

Dam Rich! After about 5 rounds of that I'm not sure who would be hurting more. The bear or my right shoulder! I think I'd be feeling sorry for both.....bet that's fun to shoot....for a little while....

85vette said:

Dam Rich! After about 5 rounds of that I'm not sure who would be hurting more. The bear or my right shoulder! I think I'd be feeling sorry for both.....bet that's fun to shoot....for a little while....

Click to expand...

I would bet that when a bear is charging you, you wouldn't even notice the gun's recoil......... :hehehe:

Rich Z said:

I would bet that when a bear is charging you, you wouldn't even notice the gun's recoil......... :hehehe:

Click to expand...

Yeah, but I'm used to M16's, MP5's, and AR15's. It definitely wouldn't feel like what I'd be expecting!

Rich, this is great stuff. I live south of Sarasota near the coast and up until 15 years ago we had bear, panther, red fox ect passing through the yard often. They've all moved east to avoid the dreaded influx of snow birds, transit and now resident. I envy you for still having that great florida nature.

We have property in Maine. Friday and Saturday nights one of the only outside activities is going to the dump to watch the bears. Maybe you and Connie can open up a small concession stand and sell tickets. There might be a bright side to this $$$$$$.

Mannings said:

Rich, this is great stuff. I live south of Sarasota near the coast and up until 15 years ago we had bear, panther, red fox ect passing through the yard often. They've all moved east to avoid the dreaded influx of snow birds, transit and now resident. I envy you for still having that great florida nature.

We have property in Maine. Friday and Saturday nights one of the only outside activities is going to the dump to watch the bears. Maybe you and Connie can open up a small concession stand and sell tickets. There might be a bright side to this $$$$$$.

Click to expand...

When I was a kid, my parents took me to Englewood and we stayed on the south part of Manasota Key. It used to be a wilderness there then, as the key had very few houses built on it. Matter of fact the road north on the key towards Manasota Key Beach was nothing but sand much of the way.

Even Sarasota was just a one horse hick town back then, with wilderness surrounding it. Was not at all unusual to see bobcats and even panther on the roads.

As a song has said, which pretty much describes state and local development policies, "They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot." Wildlife does not generate any tax revenue.

I completely understand your memories of this area. I'm third generation Floridian, raised on Siesta Key when the population was about 30-40 full time families in the late 40's and early 50's.

We moved off the Key in the early 60's because of the population Boom, boy look at it now.

Well, the bear came by again this early AM, around 2:45. I heard the alarm go off, and sure enough, he was at the feeder. He took off as soon as the flashlight beam hit him. I had heard dogs barking earlier, so I guess they all caught wind of him as he was heading this way making his rounds. His timing must be a little off, though, as trash pickup was yesterday morning.

I guess I REALLY need to set up that electric fence gizmo to zap him on the nose a couple of times to convince him to go away and stay away.

This morning Connie burst into the bedroom and yelled to me that there was a bear in the yard. It was just after 8am, so I was still asleep, but I threw off the covers, jumped out of bed and ran into the den to grab my camcorder.

Sure enough....



Oh yeah, I have to admit that I was buck naked following the bear down the driveway, as I didn't have the time to put on any clothes, but the bear just ignored the wild naked man with the camera following him.... Of course, the yellow flies REALLY liked all the fresh white meat I was offering them. Ah, the joys of living in the country.

Anyway, this was trash pickup day, so apparently the bear was making his rounds checking out the trash receptacles. I'm sure they have learned that those green plastic containers with the blue tops often hold goodies to eat in them. For the record, we NEVER had a bear problem around here till WastePro took over trash collection and then those trash bins became bear magnets. But apparently ours didn't pass the bear sniff test this morning, as he just sniffed it a few times and then walked on down the road. Connie walked out to the end of the driveway to see if she could still see him, but he had vanished by then.

He didn't touch any of our bird feeders or really anything else I can tell around the house. So I guess he was really just passing through.

Heck, that bear acted like he didn't have a care in the world...