My family had a relaxing weekend at the Gulf Coast near Carrabelle. The entire area there is the habitat for black bears who are protected by law. Friends of ours live across the highway from Carrabelle Beach and reported they now have (and apparently have had for some time) their own personal bear.
Skip discovered the bear several months ago in the back of the property, sitting on his haunches and stuffing grapes off the grape arbor into his/her mouth with both paws. The bear decided that the grapes were tastier than Skip and virtually ignored him after a quick once over look. The bear was later spotted disappearing into the brush/woods in the very back of the property between a woodpile and a chain link fence. The estimate was that on hind legs, the bear would have been about seven feet tall.
Then, several weeks after the bear was first noted (and renoted at the arbor several times), he/she took a sauntering shuffle down the driveway by the house around dusk and headed across the highway to the beach. No one inquired as to the intent of the destination. And, since then, I have been warned that if you walk on the beach before dawn or at dusk, you may encounter a bear anywhere along that part of the coast. So take a flashlight to introduce yourself.
As far as I have lived in the Panhandle, I have never heard of bear agression in the area. But, then remember not to corner the bear or get between a mother and her cubs. As we go to the gulf coast frequently, I am going to start a log of the bears I meet, where they're from, what their friends call them, how tall, how heavy, voting preferences, what they think of the present political situation and the oil spill......
Bears are territorial, they know what happens if they don't protect their territorial borders.
ReplyDeleteWhen threatened, bears take care of the threat first and decide if they can turn it into dinner after it's dead. They're shaking their heads about Obama trying to turn the Gulf Situation into a political feast before he figured out how to kill it.
On Taxes, a bear figures if he worked to get it, (putting on a show for humans is work)it's his. he'll take what he wants and the vultures can have the rest. He won't settle for what the vultures might decide to leave him...
On hand outs. Unless a bear has been spoiled by humans it expects nothing for nothing.
However a number of well intended liberals have tried giving bears hand outs, just because they are bears. In many cases this has worked and some bears have decided they're "entitled" just because they are are bears. This small group is know to get aggresive when they're offered hamburgers instead of steak.
I think my Carrabelle bear is just a wino who doesn't care for politics.
ReplyDeleteSmart Bear
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