I have had this night on my calendar for weeks...it was Bear Aware night for Summit Park residents at the library. It was a pretty sparse crowd at the beginning, but people eventually filtered in. I have wanted to support the local HOA for some time because I keep picturing normal everyday folk like me trying to get the community to participate in beautification projects, clean-up suggestions, give a $#@! PLEASE parties and then have 5 people show up...I know how that feels and have been meaning to be more supportive of the people that do care about our community. Well, tonight was the night.
I can't remember if I have already mentioned it, but there have been 2 black bears spotted in our direct neighborhood recently. The wildlife folks were called in and both bears were removed within a few weeks of each other. Depending on the bears behaviors they either move the animal to another location OR they put the animal down. In the case of these bears they decided just to relocate both, but one, a female, didn't come out of the tranquilizer.
I have a pretty good knowledge of bears simply because we have a book called "Bear Attacks" and would read stories from it when we went camping after we first got married...it was better than ghost stories when we were camping in bear country. I know not to lay down and play dead, I know not to run away & to make your self look bigger, don't look the bear in the eye, don't climb a tree and if, on the long shot, the bear does attack you? Fight with ALL your might - punch the nose, poke out the eyes, round house kick...whatever it takes.
Things I didn't know...Bear Pepper Spray works 90% of the time to deter a bear. There are ONLY black bears in Utah. Bears love sugar water and bird seed. Bears clack their teeth together when they are nervous.
Regardless, as much as I love wildlife and seeing such great animals from a high deck is amazing and wonderful, no matter how prepared I may feel to react, I am not anxious to meet one up close and personal no matter how "scared" they might be of me.
I Am Grateful,
HB
Diva Quote: "A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.” Winnie the Pooh
Good for you! I like that you are getting involved! Supporting your area, that is awesome. Sad that the one bear didn't survive. Bummer that they had to be moved.....but they had to I know. Same thing around here with alligators. Would be great to just leave them be.....but not in my back yard kind of thinking....and everyplace is someones back yard pretty much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the bear survival tips....I will keep those handy just to be safe.