# Doot Doo  Doo Looking out my back door



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

My house was built in a cypress head in SW Fl. Which is a nice way of saying swamp. The south end of my property is 30-36 inches under water during rainy season.   We have all the wild critters associated with living in the woods/swamp and sometimes they  pay us a visit.  I had 2 panthers in my driveway  a couple of years ago. This morning we had another visitor. We know he has been frequenting the area as there have been several sightings. This morning he came right up to the house.  Pictures are of the area around the pool enclosure on the back of my house. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			
















For Fl.  this is a big bear.  You can easily see he is tagged, He is also not afraid of people. That makes him dangerous.  We have learned to live with out natural habitat neighbors and respect their right to be hear. Or is that bear here.  He wandered north into the woods. Its trash day on our road and the neighbors had cell phone pictures of him in the trash earlier on.  Just one of the perks of where I live.


----------



## mbroberg (May 1, 2013)

I'm satisfied with bunnies and an occasional deer.  I don't think I'd want to find Yogi in my back yard!


----------



## MarkD (May 1, 2013)

Ahhhh He's soooooo cute


----------



## mikespenturningz (May 1, 2013)

They just want you to scratch behind their ears...:biggrin:


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

I will tell you that you have a totally different mindset when a bear this size is wandering around the yard and you only have a screen enclosure between you.  He was not acting aggressive but I have a healthy respect for an animal that can eat you.  Our neighbors all accept where we live and why, so no one is screaming to have the bear removed or killed.


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

Oh and last week the FL Wildlife officers were going door to door handing out bear warning literature, on what to do and what not to do.


----------



## edicehouse (May 1, 2013)

When I was a kid, we lived in upstate NY.  We would go camping at Raquette Lake, and always camped on Bear Alley, as they called it.  My grandparents camped in the camper, and as a kid I wanted to be in the tent, then I decided the back of the truck was a better place there.


----------



## mikespenturningz (May 1, 2013)

You were not inside your house taking these pictures? You may have to throw in a belly rub too. I also live in the country and have seen bears many times but not with only a fence between me and them. The are beautiful though. We see bear, moose and other critters here. They are really nice to see and make you realize how big and powerful they are.


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

We were within 25 ft of each other. No I was not in the house.


----------



## mikespenturningz (May 1, 2013)

Yes that is too close for comfort. So is that one of those Florida rooms that you were in. That is known as a screen room up here. Not a lot of security there. Now if those bears thoughts could be heard they could have been thinking that they were in danger too and only the screen room was between you and them? Or maybe not!


----------



## stonepecker (May 1, 2013)

I know several guys that would enjoy seeing this during hunting season.

Not something I would want to wake up to.......even if it was after the garbage


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

Nope it isnt one of the Florida room set ups just a large screen enclosure around and over the pool.  Black  bears are protected here in FL.


----------



## cnirenberg (May 1, 2013)

Mike,
I wonder if he would be willing to clean your pool for you.  I suppose if you would stock it with some large mouth bass, it wouldn't be a problem.  I have friends in Stonybrook and Bella Terra who are careful when they walk the tasty small dogs.   They see "the bear" all the time.  Nice picture of him too.


----------



## nativewooder (May 1, 2013)

Most every game animal in South Florida has to be protected because back in the day, developers discovered a method to dig canals through the swamps big enough to drain them so the gullible tourists could be flown over and shown swamp with draglines digging the canals, so the poor gullible people plopped down their retirement savings and when they retired maybe their land was dry and maybe it wasn't!  I have met several real estate retirees who, after getting out of prison, spent their millions at the dog and horse tracks and in Vegas!


----------



## Displaced Canadian (May 1, 2013)

I was thinking you should stock the pool too. Bears are fun to watch. They're really smart and it amazes me how an animal that big can move so quietly.


----------



## 1080Wayne (May 1, 2013)

Trash day = free food day for the bears , or do you use bear proof containers ?


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

We keep our trash inside the garage until the morning of trash pick up which is usually around 830 am. We dont have bear proof containers.


----------



## johncrane (May 1, 2013)

Nature at it's best /beast, i like your back yard Mike,


----------



## Kenessl (May 1, 2013)

Hummm, bear jaw pens!!


----------



## JohnU (May 1, 2013)

Absolutely beautiful.  I live in the country with timber behind my house. Unfortunately here in IL I don't get to see any bear but.... I don't have to see the snakes you do either. Lol


----------



## skiprat (May 1, 2013)

You are lucky to live in an area like that and see wonderful animals like that. 
We get badgers and foxes. We always know when they're about because the cats are always hiding inside. 
A few years ago I got home very late from work and didn't have my front door keys and instead of waking someone up, I went down the side of the house past out bins to the back door. There was a badger in the bin and the damned thing just pushed past me to walk away. I seriously crapped myself!!!


----------



## Kretzky (May 1, 2013)

Some great pics Mike, We too get black bears regularly in the garden, they're not looking for trouble & will usually run away as soon as they spot you. I Terraced my backyard a few years ago & saw two cubs merrily playing on the open framework (before backfilling) Momma was down below feeding her face on blackberries. As soon as she spotted me she was off over the back fence, leaving the little fellas to look after themselves. They've returned each year since (but haven't seen them yet this year). Probably now the little ones (who last time I saw them were almost as big as Mom) have moved on.
Trouble is many people just want to call "conservation" & have them removed (which often means shot) Hell it's us encroaching on their habitat, not the other way around.


----------



## BSea (May 1, 2013)

Well, how nice.  Now the gators have a friend to play with.  

We get deer and an occasional coyote.  Oh, and Racoons.

My wife used to just love seeing the deer on our street . . . . . . . . . till they ate her hostas.  Suddenly Bambi wasn't near as cute.:at-wits-end:


----------



## Haynie (May 1, 2013)

Out here in the southwest bear sightings are more common than other places.  In the mountains even common with the drought.

Some numb nuts feel sorry for them and feed them.  They usually get eaten for desert.


----------



## fritz64 (May 1, 2013)

where i now live {manistee county mi.}the dnr is saying do not feed the birds because there ade so many bears around.  last year we had a sow and two cubs tear up my feeders.


----------



## fritz64 (May 1, 2013)

the word is are not ade  sorry bout that


----------



## Dalecamino (May 1, 2013)

OK...this information sheds a brighter light on my infrequent visits. The light is saying I AIN"T EVER COMING BACK!!!:wink::biggrin:


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

this thread aint about chickens.


----------



## Dalecamino (May 1, 2013)

I don't CARE what you call me. (Putting on my Si Robertsons cap here) Hey.....looks like this thread is for stupids! :biggrin: Stay right there Mr. Bear while I grab my camera and get your picture. OH...and please don't come thru that thin screen....I won't harm you


----------



## Lucky2 (May 1, 2013)

I'd be far more worried about all of the snakes in the area, rather then a black bear. Not that you don't have to be cautious around a bear, but, at least you can see them coming.
Len


----------



## jsolie (May 1, 2013)

dalecamino said:


> I don't CARE what you call me. (Putting on my Si Robertsons cap here) Hey.....looks like this thread is for stupids! :biggrin: Stay right there Mr. Bear while I grab my camera and get your picture. OH...and please don't come thru that thin screen....I won't harm you



You left out the ", Jack!"  :biggrin:

We don't get critters like that where I live.  It's been a while since I've heard the coyotes in the hills.  A buddy of mine gets bobcats on his property, which are going after his daughter's egg hens.


----------



## Dalecamino (May 1, 2013)

jsolie said:


> dalecamino said:
> 
> 
> > I don't CARE what you call me. (Putting on my Si Robertsons cap here) Hey.....looks like this thread is for stupids! :biggrin: Stay right there Mr. Bear while I grab my camera and get your picture. OH...and please don't come thru that thin screen....I won't harm you
> ...


That's right Jack....Hey.....Bobcat grabbed a lady when she went to the mailbox. Her husband beat it with a ball bat. Should work for Redburns bear too Jack :biggrin:


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

Thats right 1 easy lesson on how to **** off a bear.


----------



## Haynie (May 1, 2013)

I got addicted to "Alaska State Troopers".  On one episode the troopers take a 9mm away from someone.  He says he has it to protect him from the bears.  The trooper comes back with "How fast can you run?  This will just **** it off."


----------



## TellicoTurning (May 1, 2013)

mredburn said:


> Thats right 1 easy lesson on how to **** off a bear.



On a vacation at a guest ranch in California up in the Kings Canyon/Sequoia National park area, we were out in the picnic corral having supper, with a big bonfire going in the middle of the arena, when a bear came wondering into the corral and checking out the tables for scraps... he was between the owner and the owner's cabin where his rifle was, so a few of the guests (I was not one of them - I grabbed the wife and started retreating to the main cabin) thought they would just bang a bunch of pans to "scare" him off.... any bear with will walk inside an enclosure with a dozen or so people and a big bonfire isn't going to be scared by a few banging pans... he charged a couple of the guests... pans went flying and guests were scrambling to get over the fence and out of the area....he evidently lost interest and just wandered on down the trail towards where the cook's sleeping tent was.... the owner ran for his rifle, but by the time he got back, the bear was gone... I think he decided we were no fun...


----------



## PenMan1 (May 1, 2013)

I guess you grabbed the camera AFTER you changed your underwear. We get our share of critters in our garbage cans, too, but had I seen this boy going through the trash, there would have been a pair of WELL USED DRAWERS to toss in the can.

Even small black bears are WAY TOO UNPREDICTABLE-tag or no tag!


----------



## mredburn (May 1, 2013)

As you are aware Andy that tag means squat.  All that says is the Florida  Wildlife Officers put a tag and transmitter on him and can track him. Its not going to save your ass if he gets a hold of it.


----------



## PenMan1 (May 1, 2013)

Hey Mike:
With all these budget cuts happening, I SURE HOPE THEY KEEP that guy that monitors the bear GPS- just sayin


----------



## PenMan1 (May 1, 2013)

It's all a matter of what you become accustomed to. Today, I was out scouting timberland with a newbie to the area. I told Charlie, the newbie, "watch it, DON'T step on that black racer  snake, he helps us control the Copperhead population"!

Charlie would have scored a perfect "10" on his Olympic leap..... If he hadn't landed in about a half acre of poison oak. I might as well have screamed "bear".


----------



## plano_harry (May 1, 2013)

He is probably just looking for a government handout...


----------



## TLTHW (May 1, 2013)

"knows" how close the 357 was when the pictures were being taken....lol.


----------



## Smitty37 (May 2, 2013)

TLTHW said:


> "knows" how close the 357 was when the pictures were being taken....lol.


 You still need to be a pretty good shot - if you don't stop him you might just make him mad.

Where I grew up bears were around but uncommon and seldom seen.  I understand that today, in that same area they are very common.  My cousin lived on property that backed up to state gamelands and he had black bears visit his property regularily, a lifelong friend had an 1 hour long video of not one but two large females in his back yard at the same time...both had two half-grown cubs with them.  I owned a property in a home/campsite community and people there saw bears regularily and if they left their trash out they often found their garbage raided and spread all over.  No on was ever attacked though.  Black bears are omniverous and seldom kill their meals, they usually go after vegitation (berries, beachnuts,etc) carion or human garbage.  The only bear I have ever seen in the wild was feeding on black berries.  It and I were at the same blackberry patch - I let it have the first choice and took what was left.


----------



## Ed McDonnell (May 2, 2013)

Lucky2 said:


> I'd be far more worried about all of the snakes in the area, rather then a black bear. Not that you don't have to be cautious around a bear, but, at least you can see them coming.
> Len



You don't always see them coming.  Here's a test.  If you don't see more than one bear in this picture you are lunch.

http://www.artbarbarians.com/gallery2/images/16/doublelg.jpg

In Yellowstone the rangers provided bear training before allowing you out into the back country.  They tell you to wear little metal bells so the bears hear you coming and to carry pepper spray just in case.  They also teach what bear scat looks like.  It's a really big pile, frequently filled with little metal bells and it smells like pepper.

Ed


----------



## Smitty37 (May 2, 2013)

parklandturner said:


> Lucky2 said:
> 
> 
> > I'd be far more worried about all of the snakes in the area, rather then a black bear. Not that you don't have to be cautious around a bear, but, at least you can see them coming.
> ...


Well if they were black bears they would be easier to see and less likely to think of you as supper.  Black bear attacks of humans are rare and it seems more often occur in Canada than the USA.


----------



## bluwolf (May 4, 2013)

And my dog, Trooper, wonders why I won't let him wander around loose on your property when we come to visit with all those great smells out there. He's a big boy, but I really wouldn't want to give odds on that little battle:biggrin:

Mike


----------



## mikespenturningz (May 4, 2013)

More like a 44 mag would make me more comfortable.


----------



## mredburn (May 4, 2013)

I had an 8 shot 12g w 1oz slugs handy.


----------



## mikespenturningz (May 4, 2013)

That is definitely the right medicine thankfully you didn't need to use it. Those are magnificent animals and it would be a pity to dispatch one for no good reason.



mredburn said:


> I had an 8 shot 12g w 1oz slugs handy.


----------

