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.