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Post by M5Farms on Oct 26, 2015 13:38:19 GMT
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Oct 26, 2015 15:12:05 GMT
Many years ago I was talking to an Arkansas forest ranger, and he was telling about the re-introduction they'd done on black bears. He said they had enough to start a hunting season on them, but "some guy from Texas came up here are shot both of them".
They say we've got bears here, but in 15 years I've never seen one, or talked to anyone who has.
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Post by paisley on Oct 26, 2015 15:13:06 GMT
Wild bears... do more than steal picnic basket. They are under counted and people are harmed and kill as caps for hunting are based on the under counting numbers.
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Post by paisley on Oct 26, 2015 16:05:51 GMT
The number of bears and bear attack solidified my appreciation for guns here.
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Post by farmrbrown on Oct 27, 2015 10:14:33 GMT
I saw this on the news this morning and admit I was a little surprised, a mixture of feelings about it I guess.
On one hand, I can remember not long ago when the bear population in Florida was about to disappear. They bought up a swath of land for conservation, made a continuous corridor for them to travel and hoped for the best. In all my years there, close to 40, I never saw one although a few got hit by cars out where I lived near the Ocala forest.
I know from the news and relatives that there has been an increase in sightings and encounters, garbage can raids and a few attacks. To see the population large enough to have a hunt reminds me of the alligator comeback.
It's nice to see them thriving again, but the price is having a hunting season to control the numbers.
It'll never be like it was a few hundred years ago, but at least we can know they are still with us.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2015 18:42:46 GMT
One of my colleagues has some land down in Ozark County, and some group is doing a study on the wild bears there.
I have seen pictures and read reports. Yes, there are indeed MANY bears in the Ozarks.
There are remnants of a bear on our land. Former owners had bee hives. Bears destroyed them.
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Post by farmgirl on Jan 3, 2016 23:29:03 GMT
We now have bears & cougar in our area. We have seen two different cougars, found scat, & had a big horse killed by one a few weeks ago,just a few miles away. We've had bear in our woods & neighbors have had them too. It's great to have trail cams up!
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Post by tarbe on May 9, 2017 2:48:54 GMT
A bear is tearing my place up!
I cannot keep a deer feeder going any longer. He tears them up, rips hinges off, punches holes in them with his teeth, bends the legs like they are rubber, eats the deer chow and then throws the feeder into my pond!
Last trip up (about a month ago) I had 4 feeders hit. Two ended up in two different ponds. One of them he dragged 150 yards through the woods to toss it in the drink.
Just waiting for him to hit the cabin. That's going to be really ugly. What the bear doesn't mess up, the pack rats, owls, possum, coon and mice will.
I think I heard he has a bounty on his head. Maybe I just dreamed that....
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Post by themotherhen on May 9, 2017 3:50:40 GMT
tarbe, good to see you again! I hope you get your problem bear under control soon.
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Post by Ozarks Tom on May 9, 2017 11:25:34 GMT
We aren't all that far from @pony, or tarbe, but apparently don't have a bear problem here. I'm going to have to talk again to my old time neighbors to see what their thinking is. One neighbor said she saw a cougar on her deck one night, but then, knowing her it could have as easily have been a pink elephant. |
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Post by DEKE on May 9, 2017 13:29:16 GMT
last night on the way home from the grocery, I had to swerve to avoid two black bears running across the road, about a mile from my house. Often, right where these guys were, there will be a bear sitting by the road during the middle of the day, for hours at a time. We think he is employed by DOT to count cars.
DW and I volunteer at a wild animal rescue. They have mountain lions, cougars, leopards, wolves, monkeys, bats, and other critters to include bears. The state wildlife orgs from FL, GA, AL, and LA all call them to rescue bears and raise cubs for release. So these guys know and love bears.
A couple of nights ago, a wild bear got into their compound, tore the door off of a big walk in freezer and ruined thousands of $$$ of critter food. So they put out one of their bear traps and sure enough, the bear was back the next night. He took all the bait doughnuts, released the trigger to shut the trap, just so that the bear could prove to the humans that the bear is smarter. Then the bear tore the door off the feed room where grain type feeds are stored. The rescue folks love their bears but that bear is going to be dead soon.
As to bear hunts, the rescue folks support bear hunts to get rid of nuisance bears. They hated the way Florida did their bear hunt last year because the bears that got shot are the ones out in the wilds. The problem bears that are wandering the suburbs, breaking into houses, stealing garbage, can't be hunted that close to houses. So the wrong bears get killed.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 16:17:55 GMT
We aren't all that far from @pony , or tarbe , but apparently don't have a bear problem here. I'm going to have to talk again to my old time neighbors to see what their thinking is. One neighbor said she saw a cougar on her deck one night, but then, knowing her it could have as easily have been a pink elephant. You're probably sending all your bears our way. Hmph. LOL! There are large cats here. A gal over in Norwood was on her way to work, and a cougar jumped on top of her car. She had to go home and change her clothes. |
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2017 11:13:46 GMT
On the WV farm my Dad and nephew have seen several black bears in the last year. Dad is also pretty certain he lost a calf to one, but can't prove it. Never knew them to be in the area before.
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Post by tarbe on Jun 6, 2017 22:58:58 GMT
Bear update: The bear wrecked the three remaining feeders, including my wife's bird feeder (a 5 gallon feeder with timer, filled with black sunflower seeds, 10 feet up a tree).
And just to show he is boss, he took a dump 11 steps from the fire ring in the "yard" at the cabin.
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Post by 1shotwade on Jun 7, 2017 1:06:10 GMT
Bear are unusual in this area but we have had one in the local wildlife area for the winter. It has since moved on into Kentucky. At one point it was located within 3 miles of the house. Close enough for around here.
Wade
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