Some Recent Bear Encounters

I think that black bears are the most magnificent mammals in Pennsylvania. They symbolize wilder times. Although they are generally passive and fearful of humans, a mature bear is strong enough to overpower even the toughest of men. I have run into a number of bruins while I have been fishing. Thankfully, none of them have been aggressive; and though I was concerned about them, I was never really afraid.

Several people I know have had some recent encounters with bears that have not been altogether pleasant. One woman who lives in a rural area has had her garbage strewn all over the place by a bear or two this fall. She knew it was at least one bear that had tossed her garbage around, since a bear had left its footprints on the garbage cans. These raids took place within a hundred yards of her home, which is a little too close for comfort.

One autumn evening another woman, who also lives in a rural area, heard a pounding on the glass doors that lead from her deck into her house. She opened the curtains to investigate. Standing on its hind legs with its nose pressed to the glass doors, a bear peered through the glass at the woman, who called for her husband. He arrived and opened another door, yelled at the bear, and it ran off. However, the bear was not too frightened. Within minutes the bear returned to the deck and again approached the glass doors. This time the woman’s husband not only yelled at the bear to leave; he also made lots of noise (with some fireworks) to scare it away. The next evening when the woman came home, her husband told her that the bear had been visiting again and that he had had to frighten it again.

My friend Scout had, perhaps, the most unusual encounter. He was taking a ride one evening when he spotted a couple of bears along a rural jeep trail. One of the bears jumped into a small pond; and using his cell phone, Scout took several photos of this bear. When he showed me one of the bears sitting in the pond, I opined that it would be the best bear photo he would ever get. Two slides later proved me wrong. While Scout’s truck was stopped, the other bear, using the front bumper, climbed up onto the truck’s hood and with his nose on the windshield stared into the cab. I don’t think Scout will ever top that photo.