A little black bear in my backyard.
Several days ago, my wife was out in our backyard painting a stool when she heard a branch crack. Around here, when a branch cracks you look to see why. This time, it was a small black bear coming out of the brush right behind her, about ten feet away.
My dog chased it up that tree for a few minutes, just enough time to take a few pictures. But bears here are used to dogs, and people, and it soon assessed the situation, and decided to come down and waddle off. Not much concerned.
I said at the time that given the size of that little guy, it's mother was probably not far off. Well, late yesterday afternoon I heard frantic barking just outside of my workshop. Sticking my head out the door, I saw six feet away my dog absolutely face to face with a HUGE bear. Hello Mom!
It was quite a scene. Even though my dog is large at over 100 pounds, the bear was easily three or maybe four times larger, and clearly not impressed by my dog. The bear moved an inch towards my dog, and he jumped back about six feet! Having made its point (ie, I am king), the bear slowly turned and trudged off.
That was something else. I wish I had had my camera, as a picture of those two face to face would be a keeper. However, I am mostly just glad there was no bloodshed. Henceforth, I will try to keep my camera with me more often. And I will also be keeping my bear spray handier!
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