Comments on: Bird-Count Bear

By: Black bear videos « Plummer's Hollow, Pennsylvania

Black bear videos « Plummer's Hollow, Pennsylvania — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:27:37 +0000

[…] that Mom and I ran into on Dogwood Knoll when we were doing our IBA point count, so I called it Bird Count Bear. (What are the chances it’s the father of this morning’s cubs?) Here’s that […]

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:49:17 +0000

In reply to David Harmon. Large seeds? Cherry pits, perhaps? Obv. not blueberries, raspberries, or the like.

By: David Harmon

David Harmon — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:43:35 +0000

Just a postscript — on this last Friday’s hike, we saw several bear “mounds” in the middle of the trail, all full of large seeds. Clearly it had found some berry or fruit crop! We ran into another group of hikers who had actually seen the bear (it climbed down from its tree and skedaddled).

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:32:56 +0000

In reply to Natalie. No, more like five feet. He (probably a he) was a medium-sized bear. Pennsylvania black bears can get up to 800 pounds, but I don't think this one was much over 200.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:22:41 +0000

Amazing and fortunate that you can have such an encounter so close to home, Dave. I can’t imagine an incident like this (outside of the zoo) in a London park – it would probably attract more news cameras than a flying saucer landing.
How big is the bear – About 6ft tall if standing up?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:41:04 +0000

In reply to Marvin Smith. Yes, it was great to find one that seemed so unconcerned about, or unaware of, human presence. I fear for it, though: one of the neighboring landowners took three bears off his property last hunting season.

By: Marvin Smith

Marvin Smith — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:09:12 +0000

Thanks for sharing your bear event, Dave. They are around here, but I haven’t seen one in several years — and when I did, the sight of me always frightened the bear into a hasty retreat.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:45:17 +0000

In reply to David Harmon. Oh yes, quite right. The only other thing that tears up rotten logs like a bear is a crazed beetle collector with a Bowie knife. You can never quite rule that out -- not if you've met my brother.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:43:44 +0000

In reply to Michelle Johnson. Thanks for stopping by.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:43:29 +0000

In reply to Peter. The scat isn't hard to find. The scratch marks on trees can be a lot easier to miss.