Comments on: The Night Visitor

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:15:21 +0000

Schnarpsel: Definitely lots of bears here. And whitetail deer, elk, bobcats, coyotes, river otters, fishers, rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, porcupines, opossums, raccoons and a host of other mammals.

Some people insist we still have mountain lions but there has been no official confirmation of that.

And no wolves...

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:12:29 +0000

Bryce Lee: I'll take the bear in the garden anytime over the deer with the Vespa.

I've only heard of one bear attack here since I arrived in the area in the early 1970's. In that case a person was pursuing a bear in a cornfield with a camera. Turned out the bear was female and he met the cubs. Mother was not pleased nor was the photographer. He had some injuries related to being slashed with those big clawed paws.

Common sense will generally keep you safe with the black bears here. They are pretty shy.

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:09:14 +0000

VStar Lady: No tickets or arrests. Bear just moving on down the road…

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:08:27 +0000

RichardM: The police just chased him off. Lot's of yearling bears wandering around after mom kicked them out. Around here a bear really has to become a nuisance before the Game Commission will even consider capturing and relocating.

Since we've taken the feeders down at night there have been no more visits.

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:06:27 +0000

bob skoot: I’ve seen black bears in the woods a number of times while hiking but it was always a sort of fleeting encounter. Never felt they were going to stick around to investigate me. Still, I was always careful to keep the food away from my sleeping bag!

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:04:59 +0000

David Masse: Where you were camping I’m sure there were bears and coyotes nearby. But mostly they stay away from people. Besides, you have wolves and worse up in Canada!

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:03:30 +0000

Charlie6: I can only hope Junior has the good sense to keep his distance from a bear. Most dogs, at least alone, don't fare well in those encounters.

The past few evenings we've been careful to check the yard before we let Junior out.

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Thu, 29 May 2014 03:01:31 +0000

reglazeit: But you have the Lock Ness monster!

By: Schnarpsel

Schnarpsel — Wed, 28 May 2014 18:08:50 +0000

Love the variety of your posts, Steve! Must admit that I was ignorant to the fact that there are black bears in PA…

By: Bryce Lee

Bryce Lee — Wed, 28 May 2014 15:43:27 +0000

Am thinking your house is in a quasi-rural area near State College. Hence the obviously young black bear.
Are said animals considered dangerous in the area; that is would the local game commission mark the bear and if he returns to the area then collect him and transport him to a far distant area of the state where he wouldn't have
encounters with bird feeders or similar?

Rather a bear in the front yeard at night versus a deer on the road with the Vespa.