Wildlife - Bear

Sherrie S
by Sherrie S
After heron then racoon now I have a bear. After visiting side yard he went to backyard to play with my Koi. They were covered by bird netting & a solar blanket to keep a tropical fish comfy. Bear stepped on one end of solar blanket & then left.
Bear EYES are all you can see but my dogs say there is more.
Bear LEGS showing
Bear a little closer
Bear decided to leave but he didn't go far
  72 answers
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 17, 2012
    OHHHH EM GEE!!!! Well, I'm sorry to say, but I think the Heron is getting the last laugh here. You may have shooooed him off to Becky but not before he told alllll his other friends about your pond!! NOW THAT IS WILD - no pun intended!! Have you evr seen bears there or around your area before? That's getting a little scary now!!
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 17, 2012
    @Becky H want a little bear - maybe he will chase the heron?
  • Becky H Becky H on Nov 17, 2012
    @Sherrie S he probably did chase the heron..........all the way over here, because you had a much nicer pond. I cannot believe you have a bear on the prowl!!!!! Have you called the Fresh Water Fish and Game Commission?? Have you alerted your neighbors?? Have you named him..............anything besides Aw.....S**t!??
  • Becky H Becky H on Nov 17, 2012
    (@Sherrie S Left you a note under one of the photos.)
  • TaniaC TaniaC on Nov 17, 2012
    Oh Wow I never thought there were Bears in Florida... That's just nuts....
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 17, 2012
    Ummmm are you sure that's not a panther?
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 17, 2012
    That would scare teh Bejeezes out of me right there...
  • Z Z on Nov 17, 2012
    Oh yeah. I'd much rather have big bird to deal with than a BEAR! And yes, you need to do all the things Becky H recommended. I had no idea there were bears, or maybe panthers in Florida. I knew they had loads of wildlife, but not those two on the loose.
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 17, 2012
    @Sharron W - ya know what? I kinda wondered the same thing. At first I thought it was a panther. It is a little hard to tell - but whatever it is, I don't think Miss Sherrie wants to encourage it!!m And if it is a Bear - it sure ain't no Teddy Bear!!
  • Z Z on Nov 17, 2012
    I just saw where a mountain lion was spotted in Omaha again. That happens now and then since it has wooded areas surrounding creeks that run throughout the city. The mountain lions follow those into the city and wind up in the middle of civilization without realizing it. There's Peacocks in Omaha too. We used to have one in our neighborhood when we lived there.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 17, 2012
    @Susan S @Sherrie S Well it "moves" like a panther...and not so much like a bear...
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 17, 2012
    @Sharron W - well HOW do you know that? It's a still photo?????
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 17, 2012
    @Becky H Check the picture you commented on, I think you should be able to see the long tail.... @Susan S Click though the pictures quickly, watch how it crosses one foot over into the path and then the other way...it definately has a feline movement about it and then in the one photo it "Looks" like a long tail is extended behind it... In all seriousness, right or wrong that's the feeling I get and I'm really afraid for our Sherrie...I think she needs to contact Fish and game and quickly...
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 17, 2012
    @Sharron W - The middle pic does look like a long tail but I got my magnifying glass out and to me, with the way his head is turned (still talking about middle pic) the shape looks more bear to me. Also his body looks a little thick to be a 'cat'. Oh, and his right paw is turned in and bears have a tendency to walk pidgeon-toed. So . . . . . who knows???
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 17, 2012
    @Susan S Either way, it's scary as all get out...but frankly I'm more afraid of a panther than a bear...based on the history of behavior of big cats VS Black bears...so What ever it is, (and she might be able to tell from the tracks tomorrow)....she needs to get the game wardens out to get rid of it... OK, looking again for a long time enlarged to 400% I see what you mean about the profile in the one picture, but in another it looks like the ruff of a bobcat with the ears and all....so I don't know but it really scares me for her and her critters...and I don't want her to fight a bear, or a big cat or even a racoon over her fish...
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 17, 2012
    @Sharron W - HA!!! I THINK she needs the game warden out there regardless. That kind of wild animal roaming around freely in peoples yards - anybody missing any small animals? Can you imagine if you came outside to do something and ran into whatever it was?
  • Marg C Marg C on Nov 17, 2012
    This looks like a Bear cub to me. They're common around here. yikes!!!
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 17, 2012
    @Sharron W that's really funny when you click thru the pics real fast. It always fascinates me how it makes it look like something is actually walking!!
  • Barb Rosen Barb Rosen on Nov 18, 2012
    Wow!! I had no idea you had bears roaming around in Florida!
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 18, 2012
    @Susan S look at the time on the pics which were taken hundredths of a second apart so you did see him walk. @Sharron W he is not a Grizzly & he is a shy brown bear but I won't try to pet him. @Z it seems the poor things are losing their habitat so they visit us. @Barb Rosen I guess everyone thinks we only have alligators, roaches and related pests. Maybe I need a moat around the pond, too.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 18, 2012
    @Becky H Yes, I told my neighbors - they have seen a bear or bears before but this is the first time I saw him. I certainly didn't hear the bear but I know my dogs never bark for nothing. @TaniaC I think all animals like our subdivision & it seems nobody here is bothered by the wildlife (except me when the heron ate most of my koi).
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Nov 18, 2012
    You need to call Animal Planet, @Sherrie S. I think they could base a new reality TV show on your yard.
  • Pat aka Queen of Thrift Pat aka Queen of Thrift on Nov 18, 2012
    I have read several newspaper articles about bears showing up in places where they have never been spotted before. We live in the foothills of the Appalachian Chain here in northeast Alabama in the valley of Sand Mountain. Just last week I read in the local newspaper that a lady that lives on that mountain stepped outside with her dog just after dusk and heard a strange growl/howl! She grabbed the dog and ran inside. The next morning she discovered bear paw prints near her deck, just a few yards from where she stood with her dog the night before! This makes chills run up and down my spine. We live in a beautiful cove surrounded by mountains, the nearest and highest being July Mountain. I don't know of bears being spotted there, but I will always be on the lookout!
  • Becky H Becky H on Nov 18, 2012
    I think the most common bear we have in Fla. is the black bear. It's not uncommon to drive through small rural towns and see "Beware of the Black Bear" signs alongside the hwys.
  • Becky H Becky H on Nov 18, 2012
    @Sherrie S today I want you to run out and buy a motion sensitive flood light!! 8-) Then, we can get a clearer photo of this pond pounding beastie.
  • Terri J Terri J on Nov 18, 2012
    Sherrie, I believe you hit the nail on the head - with all the development going on everywhere, wildlife are losing their natural habitats. Louckily for me, mine mostly seem to be rabbits and racooms, and live in the suburgs now. I never saw so many rabbts in my years of living in Southern York County! Hope the little guy finds a new home away from yours!
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Nov 18, 2012
    You could always set up a "deterrent" like I did. http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/bring-it-on-yogi/ http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/chalk-one-up-for-the-home-team/ http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/yogi-is-a-persistant-little-cuss/ All in all now we have had about 5-6 bear visits were the deterrent went off. We have also had a few from Rocky Raccoon. A few months ago I got to watch it all happen with the raccoon. Miss Maybelle (Our white husky) alerted us something was up and I was able to peek out the window. I saw Rocky sitting on the garbage can...I saw him try to open it and get the full effect of the "flash bang"...it worked like a charm.
  • TaniaC TaniaC on Nov 18, 2012
    @KMS Woodworks That is awesome ...I jumped when it went off LOL! wasn't expecting that Haha!... So I'm Sure it would definitely work on a BEAR or HERON Hehe!!!!!!
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Nov 18, 2012
    all it takes to reload is about 25 grains of black powder, a small tuft of steel wool and a new gatorade jug from the recycle bin.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 18, 2012
    @Becky H I have motion sensor lights all around the house but they were coming on so many times I've had them shut off for months. I'm going to have them adjusted & back on. Now I know why they were coming on. Who knows what else lurks around here.
  • Sharon B Sharon B on Nov 18, 2012
    Wow, did not realize bears in FL like this, wow.....glad pond is covered and all that for sure
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 18, 2012
    @KMS Woodworks I love your deterrent. I wonder if they sell anything like that - if not you should patent it.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 18, 2012
    Since many do not think Florida has bears here is pic of a Florida bear. He was visiting somebody's hot tub about 18 miles from my home. More about BEAR: Florida Black Bear. The Florida black bear is the largest native land mammal in Florida. It is shy and secretive, hiding in dense vegetation and rarely seen in the wild.
  • Dee W Dee W on Nov 18, 2012
    This is unreal---you almost have to be afraid to go outside yourself! On a lighter note, I've heard you have cougar or mountaintain lion there also. Maybe you could ask them for some help? lol
  • Lou B Lou B on Nov 18, 2012
    If he shows up again, I think I would call FWC and see if they can re-locate him..It is very dangerous to have them hanging around your neighborhood.
  • Lou B Lou B on Nov 18, 2012
    And yes...in Florida we do have a lot of misplaced wildlife..Bobcats, Coyotes and Bear, not to mention the regular wildlife like opossum, raccoon and armadillo...all of which live in my yard and I live in the city. I lost all of my goldfish about 4 years ago to a mama opossum and her two babies (which I trapped and relocated), my goldfish had grown to about 8 inches long, really made me sad when I found them all thrown out of my pond.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 18, 2012
    @Lou B all my wildlife problems started with the heron who ate over 1/2 of my Koi and they were mostly over 8 years old and big. @Dee W so far I never have seen a cougar or panther. I did see a fox, possum and armadillo but only one time for each of them.
  • Sharon B Sharon B on Nov 18, 2012
    wow, thanks for posting, holly cow........
  • Aquascape Inc. Aquascape Inc. on Nov 19, 2012
    Sherrie S, your pond story has become the most fascinating one here on Hometalk! You're lucky to have the camera to catch what's going on when you're not around.
  • Sometimes they just want to smell (or eat) the plants.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 19, 2012
    @TJB-INC Landscape Contractor and @Aquascape Inc. without the 4 cameras I would never to be able to guess who/what did IT. I must adjust the security lights so the cameras work better at night. Just to clear up misinformation about our Florida bear: Heron & Racoon are far worse than the bear. Man who claimed bear attack facing charges.There has never been a confirmed black bear attack on a human in Florida.
  • I don't know much about bears but the ones I have seen on TV are looking for picnic baskets. Now if you see a girl in a red hood, you ought to be looking for a wolf to follow. :D
  • Bernice H Bernice H on Nov 19, 2012
    Yikes! good gravy! Now what,Sherrie...? when you start seeing alligators..get out of dodge! I guess you determined it is a bear, I was going to say look for the poop, then you might be able to tell better? We were looking for wood in a forest one time, found a fallen tree, started working on it, looked to my right, saw a warm pile of poop with berries etc in it, we got out of dodge soooo fast....whoosh! How about living up in Banff where the moose, elk, whatever, have the right of way in town! That is scary because at mating time those males get really "touchy". I dont know if bears do too.
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Bernice H - Oh Bernice - REALLY? You KNOW all male species get rather 'touchy" when it's mating season!! Isn't bear poo called "scat"?? I guess that's rather appropriate isn't it? LOL Besides, I somehow don't think we're gonna catch @Sherrie S out there inspecting PILES of anything!!
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 19, 2012
    @Susan S girl you can find the comedy can't you....LOL LOL Scat!!!!
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Bernice H I don't plan to look for poop but even if I did I couldn't tell one poop from another so I'd have to send them to you for ID. I wouldn't want poop returned to me after ID.
  • Dee W Dee W on Nov 19, 2012
    @Bernice H - you were talking about deer and on the news they reported about a young woman who was out running and out of nowhere 2 bucks started chasing her! A group of children at a school bus stop were also confronted by a group of 4 deer. That area is just filled with deer and this time of year there is a story just about every night.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Bernice H I do have a small what they call a lake in my backyard. I have seen many turtles on large tree branches but never have I seen an alligator; nor do I want to see one.
  • Bernice H Bernice H on Nov 19, 2012
    @Sherrie S If you saw a pile of bear poop..you would know it. isnt deer poop like pellets? I dont know what raccoon poop looks like, but bear poop is sort of like a cows as I remember, but remember it was a fast look! isnt all animal doo doo called scat/ and bad potty mouth called scatological talk? hmm will have to check that out! haha
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Bernice H even though I have many encounters with wildlife I have not bothered to identify them by their poop but now that you have brought up these facts I feel compelled to put the poops in a ziplock and mail them to you for ID. Is that OK? I don't want to go through the trouble unless you really care about poop ID. Maybe we should talk about your purses instead of poop.
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Sherrie S - (whispering) do you think our friend @Bernice H - is playing w/a full deck - or has all her marbles? She seems rather fixated on POOP tonite!! I'm not real sure that's healthy!!
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Susan S I'll know for sure when she accepts my poop offer. Keep this a secret, ok.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 19, 2012
    LOL!
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 19, 2012
    @Sherrie S (whispering - ok, I won't say a word. Shhhh)
  • Bernice H Bernice H on Nov 20, 2012
    Well @Susan S after my " incident ", it is at the very top of my list right now! hah and I may not hear out of one ear, but I can hear cyber whisper! snort1 @Dee W I just bet you have lots of deer in your area, over the other sideof the mountains, Seattle, Tacoma Portland,etc, there are so many deer in the outer areas, people put wire fencing around their bushes and trees. Deer dont move for cars either!
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 20, 2012
    @Bernice H whoops, forgive @Susan S. I must get serious now because people here think I'm nuts just sitting and laughing at my computer.
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 20, 2012
    @Sherrie S - You mean they only 'think' you're nuts??? You sure had them fooled for a long time didn't you???
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 20, 2012
    @Susan S Of course I did fool everyone but I can't do it anymore because of people like you making me laugh and I didn't even know I had a sense of humor.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 20, 2012
    I still want to see the scarecrow packing heat...LOL
  • Susan S Susan S on Nov 20, 2012
    @Sherrie S - Well Dahlinq - OF COURSE YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR! Obviously, it was just dormant for farrrrrr too long. You must work w/a bunch of fuddy duddies who wouldn't recognize something humorous if it ran over 'em!! There are people like that and if that's the prevailing atmosphere at work - eeeeewwwww!! That must leave you feeling like you're in the doldrums!! Laughter relieves stress and as the saying goes, it is the "BEST MEDICINE"!! The really good thing is that you cannot OD on laughter. You might die laughing but not due to an over dose!!!
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 20, 2012
    @Susan S too bad because dying of laughter surely wouldn't be the worst way to die. @Sharron Wit is illegal to kill herons with any method and shooting them would surely be a red flag. Police would want to know where the scarecrow got the gun.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 20, 2012
    @Sherrie S I didn't want him to actually SHOOT a heron...I really just wanted you to get a chuckle...AND maybe a picture of a scarecrow with a TOY uzi....LOL
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Nov 20, 2012
    @Sharron W I loved the chuckle and thought it was a great idea. I've wondered if I could fill the scarecrow with hot pepper or cayenne and aggravate/deter herons & racoons at the same time. Now the bear is another issue.
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Nov 22, 2012
    The problem is you can not "ship" black powder, or other powders / primers with out having to pay a special "haz mat" surcharge. The extra fee is about $25 per shipment. A total pain in the kester considering there is about 15 cents worth of material in the whole she "bang" ...pun intended
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 22, 2012
    LOL @KMS Woodworks If we can't have a little "fun" with THIS one where's the justice in THAT? Right? LOL
  • Leida R Leida R on Jan 19, 2013
    Add to this post...OH MY LORD!!! IT IS HIM!!! THANKS FOR POSTING!!!
  • Capernius Capernius on Jan 28, 2016
    if you wish to deter bears from coming around, the only sure fire way I know of, is to buy a paintball gun & its ammo. for those that are not sure what a Paint ball Gun is, it is a gun that is air powered, & shoots these little round balls filled with a non toxic paint(non toxic to humans AND animals). it will not hurt the animal like a regular gun will, but it DOES cause a wee bit of pain to the animal...usually just enough pain to make them leave & not come back for a while. if all you have is 1 bear coming around, with a paint gun, you would maybe need it 1 or 2 times a week during the summer...or it may be a 1 shot deal. meaning after 1 time of getting shot, he may never come back...MAYBE. There are also bear sprays that you can use, but you need to be (usually) within 20 feet of the animal. to me, that is way to close to get to a bear. There may be other things that you can legally do, but I do not know what they may be. Talk to a Game Warden, they will know more than I.
  • Sherrie Slaboda Sherrie Slaboda on Jan 28, 2016
    Mama and Baby Bear. Neighbors named baby bear Boo Boo. We all usually bring birdfeeders in at night but I missed a night. They had a good night after finding 3 feeders each one with about 5 lbs of birdseed/bearfood. They don't bother my Koi so I don't bother them @Capernius .
  • Bernice H Bernice H on Jan 29, 2016
    @sherrie....do you still have bears???
  • Sherrie Slaboda Sherrie Slaboda on Jan 29, 2016
    @Bernice H oh yes we do. I don't always check the cameras unless my neighbors tell me to or I see evidence (bear poop).
  • Sherrie Slaboda Sherrie Slaboda on Jan 29, 2016
    @Bernice H she's a good bear because she doesn't poop at the bird feeders. She goes way to the backyard where we seldom walk.
    • Michelle Leslie Michelle Leslie on Jul 23, 2022

      Oh my goodness. I would run a mile or hide in a cupboard. It sounds like you live in an amazing part of the country. Imagine being surrounded by all that wildlife. Scary but incredibly fortunate.