Charlie Muise, Let me join you in supporting many of the things you shared with the Buttenut nature list subscribers. I differ with you in that I'm a huge fan of bear-proof bird feeders. If the birding community would simply stop leaving bird feeders outdoors overnight, they could keep themselves and the bears safe :-). Feeders of all kinds need to be kept out of the yards along with securing trash, cleaning and storing cooking grills in secure shelters, etc. :-) I know readers will think I am ridiculous but bears do come around at night and they will even poop in your driveway and your yard. Try getting that out from between your toes or cleaning off your sneakers before walking in on your carpets or hardwood floors. I know because I stepped in a fresh cow pile on a Christmas count and Ken Hale and other birders ran me through a nearby carwash before they would let me continue birding with them. At the left is a fresh pile of bear poop left in my neighbor's driveway last night by a visiting bear. This was at the home of Ron and Bunny Schoenhardt who live on Cloudland Drive here in Bristol Tennessee on the ridge just three doors up from my home. The Schoenhardts and Coffeys live on the northeast end of White Top Knobs about 1.5 miles up Cedar Creek from where the bear was reported to police on Sunday afternoon. I don't know if we have an actual bear population in these urban ridges or if a transient vagrant is passing thru this weekend. As man would walk up these ridges it would be a nice hike, as the crow flies it would be minutes. As a bear runs it is no time flat. I awoke to find my bird feeders disrupted again as usual this morning. My wife, Carolyn, was cautious and wanted to know if we had a bear attack. I assured her it was only the raccoon that is giving us fits. Ron Schoenhardt telephoned at 10:45 a.m. He claims to have had a bear attack at his house. Who is jerking me around? Did someone on Butternuts nature listserv telephone Ron and tell him I was being "irresponsible" with bear reporting on the Butternuts nature list ? Ron says a big Black Bear just left a big pile of bear poop (scat if you prefer) in his driveway. Oh my gosh ! He had telephoned the local newspaper and asked them to come out and take a picture and write a story. Bunny says he called the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. I think they should bring a shovel and clean up his driveway. Ron wanted me to go take a look. Also, he wanted me to see the bear attack he had at the "irresponsible" bird feeding he had been doing. Yes, Ron leaves his bird feeders out all night! Yes. You guessed it. They are not bear proof :-). I'm a huge fan of bear-proof bird feeders. Just look what that darn bear did to the feeder in their backyard. I arrived just as the newspaper photographer and reporter arrived from the Bristol Herald Courier. Oh, man. I forgot to put on my suit and tie :-(. In the photo at the left you see the feeder pole bent to the ground with all the tube feeders ripped away. Carolyn stands at the bottom of the yard in her red top. Bunny is wearing green. The newspaper photog is wearing a blue top with matching green pants. I am behind the camera. A reporter is hiding from the camera just out of view to the right. When Bunny and Ron went to bed last night the feeders were all hanging out nicely for the birds. They were full of seed. The cooking grill in secure shelter with the propane tank left outdoors in a well-ventilated area. The un-bear-proof city trash can was nearby but the bear did not show any interest or at least it wasn't disturbed. Maybe the bear did not detect it. I looked in the can and there was almost nothing in it but one or two small trash bags. You should have seen the thistle tubes. Photo at left shows bear claws or tooth marks. Photo at right shows tube feeder in at least six pieces. One day this bear will come around looking for its meal and find it - in the form of my neighbor's small dog that is conveniently tethered in the yard.. After eating the dog, I hope the bear doesn't corner a birder in my yard. But I do hope the birder will escape unharmed. Let's go birding... Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN _____ From: butternuts@yahoogroups. On Behalf Of Charlie Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2006 9:41 PM To: butternuts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [butternuts] bears and people Wallace, Thanks for all the info regarding bears. Obviously that is both very interesting and potentially dangerous for both people and bears. I hope everyone in that area is taking action to keep themselves and the bears safe - not feeding pets outdoors, securing trash, cleaning and storing cooking grills in secure shelters, etc. I lived in the Poconos during a time when there were a number of bad interactions, which resulted in 2 dead bears, a dead dog, an injured person and a good bit of property damage. Each incident involved bears getting fed by people. The scariest one was a case in which a neighborhood "adopted" a cub whose mother was killed by a car. Over the course of a few years the bear became accustomed to making the rounds, getting fed literally out of hand in some cases. Several people put out food for it on a regular basis. No harm appeared to happen until a new family bought a house. The old owners neglected to tell the new ones about the "pet" they were unwillingly adopting. One day the bear came around looking for its meal and found it - in the form of a small dog that was conveniently tethered to the deck where the bowl of food traditionally was. After eating the dog the bear cornered a person - who thankfully was able to escape unharmed. The bear was later shot. I'm a huge fan of bear-proof dumpsters! Charlie ******************************************************************* Charlie Muise, Naturalist near Great Smoky Mountains National Park "To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illuminated mind the whole world sparkles with light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around