We have lived in South Central Wisconsin for eighteen years. We moved here after retirement from a more metropolitan area. I have learned so much about nature, the good, the bad and the ugly. Having learned that nature can be cruel, I realized the good still outweighs the bad. I have written many nature stories but about a month ago, we had a new experience. One morning, July 6, 2020, I woke up to seeing the bird feeders flattened and hummingbird feeders broken off and on the ground.
My first reaction upon seeing this was that a Raccoon had done some damage. Then I thought maybe a deer pulled the feeder over. I had seen them stand on their hind legs to eat the seed. As we were discussing the situation, our neighbor called and asked if we had seen a bear. A bear, I thought. Never was a bear on my radar. In all the time we have lived in this area, we have never seen one. A few times the rumor mill mentioned one was sighted, but we thought we were too far south for such creatures.
Later that day, we were sent a video confirming a bear was in the neighborhood. Silly us, thinking it was just passing though, we fixed the feeders and set them up again.
The next night I was sitting watching TV, and it was completely dark out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the white pole that was holding the bird feeder. It was bending. I called out to my husband and the motion light came on. There not ten feet from our window was the bear. I had my husband go to the light switch and flip it on again. I took my phone and snapped some pictures.
It didn't look like a very big bear, but there was no doubt who had done the damage to the feeders. The very next day we took down the feeders. I miss watching the birds, but removing the feeders each night and putting them back up in the morning wasn't an option since I had broken my leg less than a week before. I did remember that just before my accident, I was throwing some weeds on a brush pile we have at the edge of the woods. I heard a loud sound and something bounded away. It scared me, but I thought it was a fawn I had happened upon a few days earlier. It might have been this bear napping in the woods. Never again will I just wander around like I have for years.
That was it. No more bear visitors because there was nothing to eat. We didn't replace the seed and began to relax a bit. It had been two weeks, and no one in the neighborhood had reported a sighting. Then on July 28, 2020, our motion camera came on a little after midnight. I checked the video and sure enough there was a bear walking down our driveway. The next day we checked the trail camera and saw him again.
I can't be sure if this is the same bear. It does look slightly larger, but it could be the angle or that he is all stretched out checking for food. I hope it isn't an entire family. Life will certainly change around here if that is the case. I have to admit it was a little exciting, but now I would prefer that they move on to a more remote habitat.
My first reaction upon seeing this was that a Raccoon had done some damage. Then I thought maybe a deer pulled the feeder over. I had seen them stand on their hind legs to eat the seed. As we were discussing the situation, our neighbor called and asked if we had seen a bear. A bear, I thought. Never was a bear on my radar. In all the time we have lived in this area, we have never seen one. A few times the rumor mill mentioned one was sighted, but we thought we were too far south for such creatures.
Later that day, we were sent a video confirming a bear was in the neighborhood. Silly us, thinking it was just passing though, we fixed the feeders and set them up again.
The next night I was sitting watching TV, and it was completely dark out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the white pole that was holding the bird feeder. It was bending. I called out to my husband and the motion light came on. There not ten feet from our window was the bear. I had my husband go to the light switch and flip it on again. I took my phone and snapped some pictures.
That was it. No more bear visitors because there was nothing to eat. We didn't replace the seed and began to relax a bit. It had been two weeks, and no one in the neighborhood had reported a sighting. Then on July 28, 2020, our motion camera came on a little after midnight. I checked the video and sure enough there was a bear walking down our driveway. The next day we checked the trail camera and saw him again.
I can't be sure if this is the same bear. It does look slightly larger, but it could be the angle or that he is all stretched out checking for food. I hope it isn't an entire family. Life will certainly change around here if that is the case. I have to admit it was a little exciting, but now I would prefer that they move on to a more remote habitat.
