First Bear

[Waumbek]

I saw my first bear of '09 on the way home tonight. It was a small but healthy-looking yearling. Momma must have been nearby but I didn't see her. Time to take down the birdfeeders. And mount a camera on a tripod for photo ops from the house. Spring is here.

 

[Mattl]

Thanks for the update, I hope to see one soon.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Laurie saw one yesterday in the Catskills, near Hunter.

 

[sardog1]

Third VFTT bear of the year

I paused along a river bank trail this morning to admire a Common Merganser in breeding plumage. I called my dog to me, put him on a sit stay and clipped on the leash, so that he wouldn't disturb the bird by running around on the trail. I had seen a semi-fresh moose track a few minutes earlier, so it wasn't a shock to hear a little twig snapping happening around a bend in the trail about forty-five yards from me.

But it was a mild surprise to see an adult bear, maybe 150-175 pounds, step around the bend. By appearance, especially its height, and the lack of an accompanying cub, I surmised it was 60/40 likely that it was a male. Not any wind blowing from us to him, so he was more than a little surprised. He swapped ends and disappeared into the woods far more quietly than any moose (or noisy dog) could have accomplished. This was at a place where bears have perennially marked the trees in the immediate vicinity.

 

[Waumbek]

I paused along a river bank trail this morning to admire a Common Merganser in breeding plumage. I called my dog to me, put him on a sit stay and clipped on the leash, so that he wouldn't disturb the bird by running around on the trail. I had seen a semi-fresh moose track a few minutes earlier, so it wasn't a shock to hear a little twig snapping happening around a bend in the trail about forty-five yards from me.

But it was a mild surprise to see an adult bear, maybe 150-175 pounds, step around the bend. By appearance, especially its height, and the lack of an accompanying cub, I surmised it was 60/40 likely that it was a male. Not any wind blowing from us to him, so he was more than a little surprised. He swapped ends and disappeared into the woods far more quietly than any moose (or noisy dog) could have accomplished. This was at a place where bears have perennially marked the trees in the immediate vicinity.

Nice encounter! I love it when the animals come across us, decide whether or not to hang around, and slip quietly away.

 

[dentonfabrics]

Here's my first bear encounter of 2009, this morning in Weeks State Forest. The bear crossed the trail about 100 feet in front of me then sauntered its way into the woods. It was a male, black as coal, still a little undernourished from the winter.

 

[sardog1]

"Something's Bruin in New Hampshire" this week.