Look closely behind the mother bear's left rear leg and you'll see her second cub. S.W.M.B.O. ran inside and grabbed the camera when she saw the mother and cubs crossing the street toward our house around 10:30 am -- a very rare broad-daylight sighting. Bear sightings are almost always at sunrise or sundown. They're superb nearly invisible ghosts.
This isn't my permanent neighbor, Molly the Single Mother Bear who lives in the small woods in the middle of our block. This mother is smaller than Molly, so somewhat younger, and a few weeks ago we saw Molly with three cubs. And this mother and her cubs ended up strolling in a different direction from Molly's home in the woods behind our house.
Also, this bear doesn't have a radio tracking collar; Molly does. Her familiarity with the neighborhood might mean she's one of Molly's daughters.
Anybody want to see more of these? S.W.M.B.O. was very plucky and very lucky and snapped about six quite remarkable photos of our neighborhood visitors -- who were quiet and polite as could be.
The height from front paw to shoulder is based on the width of my neighbor's sidewalk -- 26 inches (I just went over there and measured it with a yardstick).
The state wildlife bear expert says there's plenty of room for these bears in the deep woods safe and far from where people live, but people keep putting up birdfeeders full of birdseed on their houses, a free smorgasbrod 24/7/365 for bears, who drift to the residential neighborhoods and stop hibernating during the winter, because there's always free food available. Bears seem to be natural schnorrers, which often gets them in trouble.
My grandnieces in Florida -- and maybe my little grandnephew too -- have named Molly's new cubs Honey, Jimboy and Bigfoot. Although these kids have alligators in their neighborhood, they think their alligators are boring, and are fascinated with my bear neighbors.
5 comments:
Them's some large ol' critters y'all got wanderin' around yer yard. Ain'tchoo all worried about th' cats?
Yeah, big and bold as brass! Out for a summer stroll with the kiddies! Is that wild or what?
Molly and her annual new families have been our neighbors for I guess around 5 or 6 years. 3 of our cats are fully come-and-go-as-they-please outdoor cats, and the 4th -- the old screaming meezer -- has outdoor privileges but uses them very rarely, just to broil in the sun on a hot summer day. She has no sense of wild adventure or outdoor curiosity.
The in-and-outers are very wary of Big Wild Creatures, can sense from inside that they're around the house. From bear to skunk to raccoon to canine -- coyote or fox or unsupervised dog -- they clearly don't want to have anything to do with Wild Critters.
And housecats don't seem to be anything that troubles Molly & the cubs. We worry about the next-door dog, Wilbur. He's not tremendously bright, and would probably have the instinct to attack Molly if she wandered by. (Bet your money on Molly.)
A few years ago, that beekeeper in Deerfield was moaning and groaning about the riverside bear that was defying all his defenses and strategies to get at his hives and his delicious honey.
But when I asked him about the Torment Of His Life last summer, he'd made peace with the bear, and even looked on Sweet Tooth as a partner. When Sweet Tooth "adopted" the poor guy's apiary, he also took on the responsibility of defending these hives from all other bears. The apiary is his territory, and he defends it vigorously. And he doesn't demand too much tribute for his Bear Security Patrol.
Amazing images
regards
web designer
Hiya Web Designer --
One of Molly's daughters or granddaughters was seen last week with her cubs, teaching them how to knock down the birdfeeder in my neighbor's back yard. Clearly Molly's family is thriving and flourishing, and we've all been very lucky that there haven't been any bad encounters between bear and people (or between bear and my cats).
They shouldn't really be here in our residential neighborhood, but the birdfeeders offer them a free year-round lunch, and they can't resist.
It's a thrill to have them as our neighbors.
Oh, and check these photos out:
http://vleeptronz.blogspot.com/2007/06/tip-to-tail-tale-of-bob-and-new-york.html
http://vleeptronz.blogspot.com/2008/02/night-visitor.html
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