Posted By: KeithC
Bear? - 07/01/21 02:38 AM
I have a small number of black bears in my area. I saw one 3 times a few years ago. One of my neighbors, who lived 6/10ths of a mile down the road from me, saw a black bear a lot.
Last year when the black raspberries were on good, something got in most of the bigger patches and smashed them flat and ate the ripe berries and tips off. I figured it was deer or coons.
A few nights ago, after dark, I could hear something smashing black raspberries down. It made a lot of noise when I went towards it, but moved slowly away. I took my catahoula pups out, shortly afterwards and Louie, the male pup, ran off into the hay field and stared at something, without barking. When I shined my weak light past him, I saw 2 widely spaced, small eyes, a little lower than deer height. Whatever it was turned and ambled off. I could not get it to look back again, even though I made bunch of different noises.
Last night, I went out to kill 42 chickens and heard something in another berry patch huffing and growling. It got louder when I went toward it and then got silent.
If it is a bear, how easy is it to find sign? The ground is dry and hard right now, so I doubt there will be any tracks. Does bear hair get stuck on briars easily?
Do bears defecate in the open or sort of hide it?
How likely is a bear to push through wire mesh to go into a barn after pigeons and poultry?
I have a 240 pound aggressive dog and a 160 pound dog in another area. I would guess if I put them where I don't want the bear to go it won't go in. Do bears usually stay away from dogs?
Keith
Last year when the black raspberries were on good, something got in most of the bigger patches and smashed them flat and ate the ripe berries and tips off. I figured it was deer or coons.
A few nights ago, after dark, I could hear something smashing black raspberries down. It made a lot of noise when I went towards it, but moved slowly away. I took my catahoula pups out, shortly afterwards and Louie, the male pup, ran off into the hay field and stared at something, without barking. When I shined my weak light past him, I saw 2 widely spaced, small eyes, a little lower than deer height. Whatever it was turned and ambled off. I could not get it to look back again, even though I made bunch of different noises.
Last night, I went out to kill 42 chickens and heard something in another berry patch huffing and growling. It got louder when I went toward it and then got silent.
If it is a bear, how easy is it to find sign? The ground is dry and hard right now, so I doubt there will be any tracks. Does bear hair get stuck on briars easily?
Do bears defecate in the open or sort of hide it?
How likely is a bear to push through wire mesh to go into a barn after pigeons and poultry?
I have a 240 pound aggressive dog and a 160 pound dog in another area. I would guess if I put them where I don't want the bear to go it won't go in. Do bears usually stay away from dogs?
Keith