@jeanne-mayell I live in Bergen County, NJ. Our suburban county has just enough woods and wild areas left to shelter an estimated 2,000 black bears. Their territory is about 5 square miles. One lives nearby my street on wooded water company property which extends into around the lower part of my town and into next door town of Westwood. We have a male black bear that likes to explore my yard close to my cottage.
The first time I spotted what I thought was either bear or raccoon scat in my yard, I called Bergen Animal Control and the officer who showed up confirmed that I did have bear scat in my yard... 3 feet from a kitchen window and my side door. There was evidence where he fertilized my garden before scrambling over and scratching my neighbor's fence.
The officer warned me to keep my windows closed; secure garbage pails; get rid of my bird feeders and hummingbird feeder and stop using my BBQ at night. Seems bears like BBQ just like me. LOL.
The worst he's done is sleep through a summer's day in one of my neighbor's trees... much to the alarm of my neighbors with small children and petit dogs.
@jeanne-mayell They are fascinating little descendants of dinosaurs!!! (Birds). If you do not have it? may I suggest you download the Cornell Ornithology Lab's Merlin App... it records and identifies birds by their calls and helps you to see/hear and recognize your feathered neighbors. You will enjoy it I know.
@journeywithme2 So funny you asked! I just got the Merlin app yesterday! It is pure gold (and free). I have been walking around the yard listening to the many bird calls and Merlin hears them and identifies each bird with a photo of the bird. It even has something to tell me about each bird. I will continue using it until I've memorized those calls and that is going to be so much fun. So much fun!
Yesterday a chipmunk came right up to me and looked at me in the eyes for a long time (about 2-3 minutes). I tried to figure out what he was thinking. I think he just wanted me to throw some sunflower seeds on the ground because he can't get it from the feeder. But it was so cute to have that guy come up and just look me in the eyes.
@unkp needs to be brought into this conversation. BTW, it's his birthday coming up. Happy birthday, friend. What can you tell us about these backyard creatures?
@deetoo also should be in on this conversation.
@freya Whoa, you have 2000 bears in your county and bears in your close to the kitchen? You can't feed the birds, for sure. The worst we get from bird feeders are owls and they are actually pretty funny.
Bears outside the house are one of my recurrent nightmares. How are you feeling about these bears?
Again I'd like to hear from @UnkP has to say about this. They don't have. bears where he lives, but I'm sure he has insights about this. He is an animal whisperer.
@freya Asking AA Michael and AA Raphael to come to the aid of she and the ones she cares for to the Highest Good For All Concerned and sending much Light and Love.
@jeanne-mayell how do I feel about bears? I wish they lived their lives happy and free in areas restricted to humans… and that humans lived in areas restricted to bears.
I was terrified at first. I’ve calmed down, but I took the Animal Control officer’s advice and am also careful at dawn and dusk if I leave my house.
A friend who lives in northwestern NJ has had bears on her back deck multiple times (they have to climb the stairs to reach the deck). She lives on a lake which once was used for cutting ice for households. The whole area is dotted with similar small, beautiful lakes. They have more wooded areas than Bergen County and even more black bears. The whole area is now heavily populated and bears are contestant challenge.
Two of her encounters send shivers down my spine.
Once she was taking her daily walk and realized a large bear was her right staring at her from just a few feet away. She also realized that the bear’s cubs were directly to her left on the other side of the road. She was right in the middle between them…. She kept walking … at an intersection a car stopped, the woman gestured and my friend jumped into the car.
She was on one of the many roads around the lake packed with closely set small houses on both sides of the road— the very definition of suburbia. A heavily trafficked, four-lane highway is only about one mile away.
Another time she walked past a neighborhood Italian restaurant just after closing time. The restaurant’s lights were still on; the staff busy cleaning up. A large bear had climbed a flight of stairs to the front porch. The bear was on its hind legs leaning against the front door which was half glass—his nose raised—he was sniffing the enticing aromas coming from the restaurant. My friend kept walking.
Yes, we have lots of black bears in my state. Bears were here first before the farms and towns and cities and our burgeoning suburbs. Most of my fellow citizens don’t even realize it. Nor are they aware how many coyotes we have. I have a story about a pack that lives in my neighborhood (but I won’t bore you with it).
My friends from out West laugh because black bears are smaller than their truly impressive beasts. But all bears can outrun humans and they can be dangerous.
As I said, they were here first and they’re not going anywhere. Why would they leave? We’ve got kitchens and lots of garbage pails and bird feeders.
@freya That's one bear for every 1.6 acres. 🤨 Seems like a very small territory for each individual. No wonder they are raiding bird feeders!
@journeywithme2 I have had the Merlin app for several years. I can second your recommendation.
I turn it on and take it with me when I walk the dog. It identifies the bird calls and it turns out there are more different species of birds around the neighborhood than I ever imagined. There are several species I never even heard of before although I've lived in the region most of my life. Most of them are small birds that don't come out in the open much. For example, "What the heck was a "Northern Parula" ? " I thought. Now that I know what they sound like, I've been able to recognize a few by sight.
You can even download data packs for other countries. I traveled to Ireland a couple of years ago and downloaded the pack for northern Europe. There were some birds novel to me there, for sure.
@ana you are right! I probably misinterpreted what the Animal Control officer said… latest numbers are between 3000 and 4000 for all of NJ.
On the other hand, my town has lots of ponds, streams, brooks and rivers. We have lots of tasty deer, especially fawns at this time of year. Red foxes too. As I’m sure you’re aware, all over the world omnivorous bears take advantage of foods human communities offer.
A band of clever coyotes occasionally wanders my neighborhood, too.
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