Bear!

[Winchester]

Rick thinks we were visited by a bear last night. We've been putting suet out for the birds for a long time. Well, this morning, two of our suet cages are gone; one is on the ground, but the second has disappeared. We have no idea where it is. I don't think raccoons could do that, but I could be wrong. And there are bears in our area. It could have met me some night when I came in from the WeShed! I'd have pooped my pants!

 

[susanm9006]

Bear visits are getting to be more common so entirely possible. Raccoons can steal suet feeders though. At my former house I had to chain mine to the deck because they kept being taken.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Oy! Raccoons have very good little hands so it could be! Maybe you need a wildlife camera. I would love to have a camera on my bird feeders. How did you have it hung up?

 

[kashmir64]

No idea what a suet feeder is, but if it has food, it could be bear.
There should be prints somewhere, even in dry dirt (not rocks though). Small prints for front, large bigfoot prints for back.
Check around, there should be prints.

 

[denice]

I remember seeing a documentary about living in bear country. A couple from outside of the area asked someone where the best place for a bird feeder was. They were told to figure out where they wanted the bears to be and put the bird feeder there.

 

[Margot Lane]

My bet is bears. You can try putting it much much higher up, where the branches get thin or wonky. Also once you get past the initial Spring hungries, bears are less inclined to go for it.

 

[neely]

Raccoons have very good little hands so it could be!

I definitely agree! I hung two suet cages in the back of our yard near the fence and they were on the ground minus the suet. We've seen raccoons, opossums and squirrels along the top of the fence so it could have been any one of them.

 

[Winchester]

A few years back, the raccoons decimated our corn patch. Rick was sick and really angry. But we are going with bear. We do live in bear country. One day, Dear Richard was out walking and a bear lumbered across the road about ten feet in front of him. Another day when he was out, he came across a bear napping in the middle on the road. Just lying there, sunning himself. The bear saw Rick about the same time Rick saw it. Mr. Bear got to his feet and Rick immediately back-tracked, turned left. and went up a different road. Thankfully, the bear did not follow.

We were going to cut back on suet anyway since it's getting warmer out now. There's still one cage left and it has suet in it. I checked this morning. Time to gradually let the birds fend for themselves.

I got Rick an outdoor camera for Christmas last year. He really needs to put the thing out there.

 

[susanm9006]

A few years back, the raccoons decimated our corn patch. Rick was sick and really angry. But we are going with bear. We do live in bear country. One day, Dear Richard was out walking and a bear lumbered across the road about ten feet in front of him. Another day when he was out, he came across a bear napping in the middle on the road. Just lying there, sunning himself. The bear saw Rick about the same time Rick saw it. Mr. Bear got to his feet and Rick immediately back-tracked, turned left. and went up a different road. Thankfully, the bear did not follow.

We were going to cut back on suet anyway since it's getting warmer out now. There's still one cage left and it has suet in it. I checked this morning. Time to gradually let the birds fend for themselves.

I got Rick an outdoor camera for Christmas last year. He really needs to put the thing out there.

It wouldn’t protect against bears I don’t think but I have a squirrel proof (and raccoon proof)peanut feeder that can be chained. When the weight of a larger animal is on it the cage comes down and covers the feeding holes. It’s been up for maybe four years and hasn’t been damaged or stolen.

 

[maggiedemi]

My neighbor warned me one day that a bear was waiting for me at the spot I always crossed the road at and turned around on my walks. Needless to say, I now go the other direction, where the houses are and where the trees are cleared to make hay.

 

[muffy]

I love bears and seeing a bear in person is on my bucket list.

 

[Kat0121]

I love bears and seeing a bear in person is on my bucket list.

I love them too. Bears are number two on my favorite animals list behind the obvious. I have tattoos of both.

 

[muffy]

I love them too. Bears are number two on my favorite animals list behind the obvious. I have tattoos of both.

Can we see your tattoos?

I've see bears in zoos but never in the wild. I saw a large black cat once when I Lived Maryland but never a bear.

 

[kashmir64]

Seeing a bear from the back window is cool. But when you're outside at night and hear a huffing coming from just beyond the lighted area and know bears live in the area, not so cool.