some backyard bear pic's

[mrbb]

OK trying again here
since some asked for some

here are a few bears pic's from the backyard,
these 5 pic's are actually 3 generations of bears all from pone female
the adult female NO cub, is the mother of all them, MINUS this yrs cub, which she would be a grand mother too, as its her female cub from 207, that now has her own cub this yr, and the small single cub, is the female from the adult female (that got feeder) from 2019's litter, she actually kicked the cub out to mate, 2 days after this pic was taken, so, she is now on her own, along with her brother (he was trapped and tagged a few days ago)

little info on the Main female here, she is the ONLY bear that has ever defeated my bird feeder pulley system, she USED to know how to reach up when standing on deck and PULL a ft or so of line in till she got to feeder, and she is also SO darn smart, she know's how to OPEN a feeder and eat all the seeds without breaking or damaging the feeder?
she is 13 yrs old and one of my smartest bears I have here

in these pic's
ALL the bears had there sights on a simple suet feeder I just hung, NOT on my normal system of pulleys
but at 9 ft off the ground, I THOUGHT it was safe,
as I had bears of all ages and size TRY to reach it(one male was within 2 inches of reaching it< BIG male)
and none got it, till, this female, came up with a NEW plan

she went on deck, hopped up to reach rope, pulled rope into mouth, and then JUMPED off deck holding rope in mouth, then walked down to hanging feeder, w=and HOPED to removed suet,
how ever, there wasn't any left in it, was long gone a week or so ago, but scent was there any how!
so a lot of work for nothing LOL
but she is again, the ONLY one that got it out of 12-15 different bears this spring!

her daughter didn;t learn the trick from her, THANK GOD LOL
as she is here 2 -3 times a day walking about with her cub( and its a male)

so info for you and pic's

as I said, in other tread
I also helped trap and tag, and relocate 3 different bears the past 3 weeks, so I have some hands on experience besides pic's too!

 

[mrbb]

a couple more, and some info if you like
first bear(kinda had bad hair), he was a project of mine for past yr or so, he wa s an orphaned cub at the age of about 4 months old, a male, , mother was poached/shot out of season , last June, so he was about the size of the cub in the pic's when he was orphaned
managed to get this thru his first yr(he is 100% wild minus the handling needed to get him what he needed)
he is actually a VERY large male, must have had a BIG genetically large father/mother, as he is about 40+ lbs larger than the rest of the cubs his age!(I had 2 other orphaned cubs, him making 3 last yr)
he is doing fine and would never know he didn;t have any mom to teach him basic's, which is always nice to see them make it and get a chance at life IMO

the nec pic, is again a male cub of the adult female from above pic's
he too was kicked out of her care in first week or so in June
and he quickly found his way into a trap, set to catch bears by the state here, if anyone cares to guess his weight, I can tell you exactly what he weighted when caught!

he is now ear tagged and was relocated 80 miles away( odds are he MIGHT make it back, wills see in time, as there known to come back more times than not)

third pic is again, the same bear and cub from above pic', she is 3 yrs old, and this is her first cub
I can give a pretty darn good guess on her weight too, as her mom also was trapped and tragged and her mom was about 20% larger than she is, so I know what her wieght is and can come darn close as top what she weights base doff that!

4th bear is a old male, he is about 15-16 yrs old, was trapped and tagged 2 yrs ago, he is BIG, I can tell you what he weighted when trapped and tell you he is larger now than then, so again a close gues on weight of him as well due to knowing what I knopw on him
and last pic is a lone female about 4 yrs old and NO cubs, she will be mating this yr(about right now is mating season too)


SO< there you go folks some bear pic;'s and info!
I get a LOT of pic's every week, of all sorts of critters, NOT Just bears! too, in case anyone cares
I am lucky have thousands of acres of forested land all around me, and some farm land mixed in below that, and a few hundred acre's of food plots planted on lands within a few hundred yards of me(have some food plots IN my yard as well as other things that attract and hold wildlife here so often)
thus why I have s many critters here

 

[snomoman]

Thanks for sharing the great pictures, I’m curious how close can you get to them and feel safe? I’m sure not too close for bear selfies LOL

 

[mrbb]

to be 100% honest, on the regular ones that have come here for a few yrs, most of them if I wanted I can touch and not have any worries of doing so!
on the oldest females coming, I can pick up there cubs when they have them IF I wanted
I don;t desire to be that close to them more
mostly due to NOT wanting them to get used to humans anymore than needed, its NOT fear of ME being harmed, as it is, for fear of them getting harmed being TOO comfortable about humans.
they need to remain wild and have fear of people for there own good.
I am glad folks hunt them, its a BIG role in keeping them in fear of people!


but again, I have also raised so many now over the decades, and many still return here off and on though there life times and those that had more hands on with, are one's I can handle still to today!
they have amazing memories, like an elephant , I don;t think they ever forget!
or not from my experience with them, there memories are impressive, and there ability to learn is also super impressive! there extremely smart animals and learn fast by watching!

I have some bears I don;t see here for 4-7+ yrs at a time, and they will return, see me, and will walk up to me as if they were cubs and me handling them as I had back then! NO fear of me, and willing to allow me to do what ever if I wanted to!
,
I also, fully believe that they NEVER know how big they really are, yes BIG adult males tend to know there pecking order, but I just never seem to see them act there size at times.
its as if they never have a mirror to look in to see HOW big they really are.

as I shared before, I have had over the yrs some very special to me bears I helped raise as orphan's and made it in the wild, that when they would pas s thru my area,
it was NOT un common to have one of them come sit on my deck with me in the summer time and just hang out for a few hours , like a BIG old dog would
and then move on when they feel like it/
for me, I am fine, I wouldn;t suggest anyone else doing so, as there is more to things than just what pictures or a few words here will ever show!

but again, I don't try and make pets out of them, nor want them super comfortable about humans period
when working with orphans, or injured one's
its just NOT possible to NOT have contact with them, so some of them again, do get much more comfortable about me, and what I can do with them, but the goal always is for them to be able to move off and live on there own else where !
at almost 40 yrs of being about bears, and not a single BAD experience yet, I'd like to keep it that way,( and I have crawled into dens with bears that had cubs and the likes?? LOL)
I am sure a lot of times been maybe lucky, however I also take SOME credit that I know what I am doing too , as I said, bears should never be approached by anyone, and should be respected for what they are and can do!

I couldn;t tell you how many I have been about over them yrs, where I have been a few feet if not closer to them, but would have to be many hundreds for sure!

I have always had a fascination with them and over the yrs worked hard to learn all I could about them, worked with some of the worlds best bear biologists, some super knowledgeable folks too, and been a privilege to have known them and learned from them .
its provided me with a lot of wonderful experiences and memories of things I seen and learned about bears!

 

[snomoman]

Very nice information, thank you for sharing, it’s wonderful what you’re doing with those animals

 

[wirev]

Thanks for sharing, what a life you lead.

 

[mrbb]

well thanks guys, in some ways I have been very lucky in life, some others ways, I am not so sure LOL
but have been able to go a lot of places and do a lot of things most haven't, or wanted too!!


still ainl;t seen no Big foot, but have hope maybe some day I will !!
be cool to see one I think??

 

[Grant Hoar]

bear sightings + alcohol + time = bigfoot sightings

 

[mrbb]

bear sightings + alcohol + time = bigfoot sightings

HAHAHA, well I'm not so sure on that, back in my younger days, I sure drank a lot and camped out in many remote places, can recall decades ago, in AK< where it was costing me 60 bucks a case of beer to have flown in at drop camps in middle of no where, (and buying 3-4 at a time LOL)
and , I still never seen one HAHA!

not even a track

but I did see a lot of other things!!

and last night I had a bear show up that was trapped and ear tagged and relocated 30 days ago, 80 miles away,
so, its BACK!
its just amazing how they can do that, and they THINK its all done by scent, they smell there way home
is a female and she lost about 60 lbs over the hike, she is in HEAT, and a few hours after she left, a BIG 600 lb male showed up looking for love, hot on her tracks LOL

Love is in the air here for bears that is!

 

[frnash]

I … can recall decades ago, in AK< where it was costing me 60 bucks a case of beer to have flown in at drop camps in middle of no where, (and buying 3-4 at a time LOL)
…
and last night I had a bear show up that was trapped and ear tagged and relocated 30 days ago, 80 miles away,
so, its BACK!
its just amazing how they can do that, and they THINK its all done by scent, they smell there way home …

mrbb (mr Backyard Bear?):
Now I think we know where you got all those "backyard bears" — they followed you from AK to PA, just like the bear from last night that came back, drawn to you like a magnet!

 

[scott_l]

As others have said thank you for sharing......other the the bird feeders any damage done by them on your property (trying to get into something or what not)?

 

[WorkHardPlayHrd]

Yes thank you for sharing. My kids loved the photos.

 

[Skylar]

Thanks for sharing, pretty cool!

 

[mrbb]

As others have said thank you for sharing......other the the bird feeders any damage done by them on your property (trying to get into something or what not)?

well 40+ yrs here, and about the only damage I have ever had to date, is, I ONCE, 1 time has a back door screen torn, cost me like 2 bucks to fix,
about 8 times over the past 20 yrs I had a trash can tipped over or gone thru, very rare however!
ONCE in a GREAT while,. a few female bears will get into a marking contest, which means they will try and out crap each other, making the yard as "THERE"S"!!
it seems to happen when one particular female show's when there are others here, she sort of thinks, she OWNS the place I guess, and tries to enforce her idea on the and they then in return reply with NO she doesn't!
but even that is rare

other damages I get but I live with, are once in a while a bear will break a branch off tree climbing it, or, a large male will mark a tree to show he rules the roost here,
but its always small stuff and never a bother to me, I have tons of fruit tree's some 60+ yrs old that have more claw marks on them its not even funny and they live and make apples just fine, even my smaller fruit tree's get climbed on and still hold up well.
SO< NO to be honest I very seldom ever get any bear damage here
most all my neighbors are in the same way, no real damage minus a few odd times a trash can might get tipped over, and its mostly due to folks putting food in it and things attracting due to such,
when you live where beers are, you need to take extra steps, do them and things tend to be just fine

As of this yr, I had a few neighbors pass away, and some NEW city folks moved in, and as such, as of March this yr, they have NOT been as happy with bears as the rest of the folks that live here
its a SMALL town, 36 house, 1 road, that most residents have been here for 30+ yrs, minus these new one's
so, as a way to make peace with them, we been trapping and moving some bears out of area, to make them happy!
I doubt they(new people ) will ever be happy, however, as they also complain about squirrels, chipmunks, deer and wildlife in general!
NOT sure why folks move from the city to the WOODS< then complain about wildlife!
and then they expect the state to move all the wildlife from the area to make them happy,
its a mind set I will never get or understand
but there are aways new pains with NEW neighbors I guess LOL
closest one to me in a mile away, so, I'm better off than some of the folks that lived here a LONG time!

and I am glad you all like the bear pic's info
I am about it every day so I take for granted seeing things anymore!

but I still still enjoy seeing them!
all the more so one's I know so much about, I find that very interesting to get to watch some live so long and the things they go thru, from injuries, to raising so many cubs, and just bear politic's at times, when there working out pecking order and family drama's! LOL

 

[bearrassler]

when you live where beers are,

That sounds like a great place to live

 

[mrbb]

That sounds like a great place to live

well as long as you like bears and willing to take extra steps to co exist well with them
if not,
many find its NOT so fun after the novelty wears off!
this is actually where most issue's with bears happen

folks see one, then feed it, to get pic' s and or video's
get caught up in the COOL FUN side of doing so, then when it wears off, and they NO longer want the bear there, they soon find out the bear doesn;t want to leave.
then they start calling game depts and complaining and making a fuss, even though MANY times it was them that started the problem , and now expect others to fix it.

this is why it posted so often DO NOT FEED BEARS!
its a real problem in many places
and most times the bears end up on the short end of the stick,!
due to folks, creating problems for them!

 

[Tracker]

You know whats funny dare Mrbb....for something that some say don't exist....theres sure alot of people that report seeing one....lol

2032 per year in Washington state

1697 in California

Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Texas with 806 sightings.

And this is only the US.....Same with UFOs....hate to tell you this....but both are real with that many seeing them...police car cams....pilots....military....hunters.....astronauts....and on and on....and all those see both of those things....and FYI....I have only seen a live bear once in 50 years....and there's 1000s more of those things.....works both ways...if you want to see a bigfoot there are things you can do to attract them....but just like bears....once you do you wish you wouldn't of....i hope you do see one or tracks sometime.....its life changing and makes you respect things more overall....there by you in PA.....1300 reported sightings as well.....good luck on it.....i find it intriguing and scientific myself

 

[katden4]

well 40+ yrs here, and about the only damage I have ever had to date, is, I ONCE, 1 time has a back door screen torn, cost me like 2 bucks to fix,
about 8 times over the past 20 yrs I had a trash can tipped over or gone thru, very rare however!
ONCE in a GREAT while,. a few female bears will get into a marking contest, which means they will try and out crap each other, making the yard as "THERE"S"!!
it seems to happen when one particular female show's when there are others here, she sort of thinks, she OWNS the place I guess, and tries to enforce her idea on the and they then in return reply with NO she doesn't!
but even that is rare

other damages I get but I live with, are once in a while a bear will break a branch off tree climbing it, or, a large male will mark a tree to show he rules the roost here,
but its always small stuff and never a bother to me, I have tons of fruit tree's some 60+ yrs old that have more claw marks on them its not even funny and they live and make apples just fine, even my smaller fruit tree's get climbed on and still hold up well.
SO< NO to be honest I very seldom ever get any bear damage here
most all my neighbors are in the same way, no real damage minus a few odd times a trash can might get tipped over, and its mostly due to folks putting food in it and things attracting due to such,
when you live where beers are, you need to take extra steps, do them and things tend to be just fine

As of this yr, I had a few neighbors pass away, and some NEW city folks moved in, and as such, as of March this yr, they have NOT been as happy with bears as the rest of the folks that live here
its a SMALL town, 36 house, 1 road, that most residents have been here for 30+ yrs, minus these new one's
so, as a way to make peace with them, we been trapping and moving some bears out of area, to make them happy!
I doubt they(new people ) will ever be happy, however, as they also complain about squirrels, chipmunks, deer and wildlife in general!
NOT sure why folks move from the city to the WOODS< then complain about wildlife!
and then they expect the state to move all the wildlife from the area to make them happy,
its a mind set I will never get or understand
but there are aways new pains with NEW neighbors I guess LOL
closest one to me in a mile away, so, I'm better off than some of the folks that lived here a LONG time!

and I am glad you all like the bear pic's info
I am about it every day so I take for granted seeing things anymore!

but I still still enjoy seeing them!
all the more so one's I know so much about, I find that very interesting to get to watch some live so long and the things they go thru, from injuries, to raising so many cubs, and just bear politic's at times, when there working out pecking order and family drama's! LOL

We have 40 acres off the grid in northern Wisconsin. We have seen a lot of bears over the years and never a problem until last winter. I showed up early to mid April and every one of our screens on the windows had been torn out, except the garage. So three sides of the cabin. First thought of course is what food did you leave out! Nothing, winter months I usually leave early morning and return late late just to sleep and shower. The cabinets for 5-6 months really only have a few can goods. So strange that I honestly didn’t change any habits over the 18 years I have had it, and one year they get all the screens. I am very lucky I guess, as they didn’t break a single window! Scratch’s in the glass, but nothing broke, and haven’t had another issue after that. Even the grill I leave out side so if they did want it it easy for them. I would rather have then tip it over than try and get it the garage. I love watching them and always have respect for them. They are my favorite wild animal to watch.

 

[mrbb]

We have 40 acres off the grid in northern Wisconsin. We have seen a lot of bears over the years and never a problem until last winter. I showed up early to mid April and every one of our screens on the windows had been torn out, except the garage. So three sides of the cabin. First thought of course is what food did you leave out! Nothing, winter months I usually leave early morning and return late late just to sleep and shower. The cabinets for 5-6 months really only have a few can goods. So strange that I honestly didn’t change any habits over the 18 years I have had it, and one year they get all the screens. I am very lucky I guess, as they didn’t break a single window! Scratch’s in the glass, but nothing broke, and haven’t had another issue after that. Even the grill I leave out side so if they did want it it easy for them. I would rather have then tip it over than try and get it the garage. I love watching them and always have respect for them. They are my favorite wild animal to watch.

yeah things like this can happen, from MY experience, every bear has its own personality, and some are just way more curious than others

a good guess on my part might be, it smelled something, doesn;t have to be food, for people, could be a mouse, some bee's, insects, or< who know's at times with a bear, there noses are so good, and again they are very curious animals by nature

it could have seen its reflection in the glass and as such, found it interesting enough to clear the screen away for a better look at itself LOL


as for outside grills, I get asked that a lot, I cook on my deck yr round, grill is out there 24/7/365, and in all my yrs NOT once has a bear even looked at, touched it or anything, and I have had bears on deck while food was cooking on the grill??
for me even I find this hard to understand or figure out, I always just tell folks I have GOOD bears that don;t damage my things LOL

but I am very glad they don't, all the more so when its HOT and cooking things!!

 

[katden4]

yeah things like this can happen, from MY experience, every bear has its own personality, and some are just way more curious than others

a good guess on my part might be, it smelled something, doesn;t have to be food, for people, could be a mouse, some bee's, insects, or< who know's at times with a bear, there noses are so good, and again they are very curious animals by nature

it could have seen its reflection in the glass and as such, found it interesting enough to clear the screen away for a better look at itself LOL


as for outside grills, I get asked that a lot, I cook on my deck yr round, grill is out there 24/7/365, and in all my yrs NOT once has a bear even looked at, touched it or anything, and I have had bears on deck while food was cooking on the grill??
for me even I find this hard to understand or figure out, I always just tell folks I have GOOD bears that don;t damage my things LOL

but I am very glad they don't, all the more so when its HOT and cooking things!!

I was hoping you would share your thoughts, and I agree some are just more curious. I have no idea what the bear smelled, but now I put candles of course unlit, by all the windows on the inside to mask whatever it was they smelled. Its the only time we have had trouble. The grill could sit out side untouched for a year or two, then it gets knocked over a few times and it stops. We use it a lot in the summer months, and never in the winter as I tend to eat out while riding. Thank you for the photos and thoughts!