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we've had a bear lurking around at night - walking through our (now-tilled) garden. You can see his paw prints clear as day. Looks like a smaller bear, the prints aren't that big (for a bear anyway). LOTS of deer prints in the garden too. The edge of the gardens are lined with apple and pear trees, so that's what they are coming for. As long as they don't bother me, I could care less what critters are out there at night. I would like to actually SEE them though. I haven't yet.
I've had bear, deer, turkey and just the other day a big bull moose coming into my pasture for the same reason - apples! We have quite a few trees and all the wild animals flock to them. Like you, if they're not bothering me or my animals, no harm, no foul.
You should invest in a game camera if you want to see what goes on at night in your garden ~ you'll be amazed! We set one up a few years ago and got some great pictures of deer, coyote, raccoons, turkeys, etc. Kind of fun to see what's happening while you sleep.
Actually I have never understood something..... in NH people put up birdfeeders and wonder why there are bears, etc???? ....In the south, people throw out food in the heat and wonder why there are cockroaches, bugs etc????......
Am I just getting too old and finally learning common sense?...lol..... (but honestly, common sense or not, I would rather have the bears !!!) !
Little Black Bears -- You just gotta luv 'em! They are small indeed, just don't get between a mom and her cubs. When that happens on a rural road and mom is on one side and the cubs are on the other, even the school bus has to wait her out.
Here's my black bear experience. I took my golden retriever with me one day to go and pick blueberries in a large field near our house. He would pick blueberries and eat them while I was picking to fill up my container.
The blueberry bushes where we were picking from were quite tall and quite wide. After awhile the bush I was picking on began to shake a little harder. So I said to my dog, "go find your own bush, I've got this one." As I moved around to pick in a new spot, I saw that it wasn't my dog, but instead was a little black bear.
That's when I decided the bear could have the bush and I would just back out slowly to the trail. As soon as I was far enough away, I continued on home, and there on the porch was my dog sound alseep!
As for moose (or as we jokingly like to call them "meese") I've only seen two one on the Appalachian trail standing in a wetland area in the daytime, and the other at night standing with a group of horses beside a barn. Comparatively speaking it was like seeing a truck parked among cars. Moose are very, very tall! --Yokie
Most frightened I've ever been of any wildlife in NH wasn't the bears, but the [apparently] huge packs of coyotes in Pittsburg when I was deep woods camping last October.
Although coyotes are said to not be dangerous at all (never been an attack on a person in the state - I think)..... you try going to sleep.... with not another person around for damn near 300 square miles. I could hear the howls of pack(s) of coyote echo throughout the valley as the sound reverberated off the mountainside, and this howling went on for hours. Damn if I got any sleep that night.
Apparently they howl throughout the state (particularly in the fall), but I've never noticed it nearly as bad elsewhere. Merely my anecdotal observation.
Way scarier than the time I almost got pounced by a moose for eyeballing him the wrong way at a lake, while hiking.
FTA, That's funny about the moose. I have far more than my fair share of moose troubles too.
One quanundrum I suffered was fly fishing from a Kayak in the chain of ponds on the Maine Cdn border about. I felt the fly line quivver, set the hook in a nice trout, or so I thought and caught the green weeds monster of the de lak.....
That wasn't so bad, but my great dane at the time took offense, and went after the swimming moose, and would not listen to a word I said. I wanted that hand made fly back, but I don't get what I want often. I had planned to wiggle and jerk on it, but the dog cut that idea right off.
I cut the fly line, and chased down the dog.
I've had yottes right in camp many times, but only 2 at a given time. They don't bother me any, but I am armed. They are fairly smarter than modern man too.
Neighbor lost a cat, and came to borrow any traps I could spare. Somehow he came by a big stinky dead beaver for bait. Later that day i went to check his 'set' LOL
Well he had staked out the beaver and made 2 circles of traps around it. The next day he called to say all the traps were sprung and the beaver was gone.
I went to see, and it was as if someone raked the area clean in that 2 rings of traps. That ended it as he had no more bait.
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As long as they don't bother me, I could care less what critters are out there at night. I would like to actually SEE them though. I haven't yet.
Little Black Bears, Yes! You Bet!
