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Black Bears

There, shes thinking `If I spread my cubs out wide enough, I can take over the entire county, as no one will want to get between me and my cubs...`
 
Imagine crawling underneath a house to deal with a gas leak and finding the crawlspace is an occupied bear den ...

BTW: The cubs are being cared for pending adoption or reunion with their mother.
Gas leak leads to discovery of bear family sleeping under Tennessee home

Utility workers investigating a gas leak at a Tennessee home called wildlife officials for assistance when they discovered a family of bears sleeping under the house.

The Appalachian Bear Rescue said a utility crew responded to a home in Sevier County and called the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency when they ventured under the house and were faced with "the ample caboose of a very large snoozing bear." ...

"The crawl space beneath a home is not a great place for a bear den, especially if there's a gas leak," the bear rescue said. "There was no way to know if the gas injured the bear, there was no way to safely repair the gas line while the bear was in residence, and there was no way to keep the home warm and habitable without repairing the gas line."

Wildlife officials arrived at the scene and were successfully able to "encourage the big bear to leave the premises," but they then discovered the bear was a mother and had left behind three young cubs. ...
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FULL STORY:
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/0...-sleeping-under-Tennessee-home/3601613599229/

RESCUE SITE WEBPAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/AppalachianBearRescue/photos/a.134263716586229/4094117353934159
 
A black bear bathes, isn't offered coffee.

A man is none too pleased when this black bear pays him a visit, disrupting his morning cup of coffee (according to his Facebook page).

As the bear takes over the deck, forcing the man to retreat into his house for safety, a woman's voice in the background comically asks, "Did you speak to it?" To which he responds, "No I didn't speak to it – it's a black bear. They're bad bears. They can be mean." The bear takes no offense as it makes its way into the spa for a nice steamy soak, which is set against the beautiful Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains. Nice way for any bear to start the morning!

https://boingboing.net/2021/03/25/a...lps-itself-to-a-steamy-soak-in-a-hot-tub.html

 
In California young black bear cubs cozy up to humans as a result of a mysterious form of encephalitis / brain inflammation.
Mysterious brain infection makes bears act 'like friendly dogs'

A mysterious neurological disease in young Californian black bears (Ursus americanus) is making them behave like pet dogs, cozying up to humans in a friendly manner.

Though it sounds cute, this abnormal behavior dramatically worsens the bears' chances of surviving in the wild.

The bears, which are all around 1 year old, appear to be suffering from a form of infectious encephalitis — inflammation of the brain tissue that can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, as well as part of an autoimmune response. But veterinarians are unsure exactly what is causing the problem or how fast it is spreading among the population.

Symptoms include a prominent head tilt, lethargic movements, muscle tremors, seizures, walking in circles and being significantly underweight, as well as a surprising fearlessness towards humans. ...

"Infected bears come to our attention because they approach people in a peaceful, friendly and non-aggressive manner" ... "Their behavior is similar to a dog, not a bear." ...

"The first bear I personally rescued was diagnosed with encephalitis in March of 2018 ... She walked into a school and entered a classroom where she sat down among the children, behaving very much like a friendly dog." ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/mystery-disease-fearless-californian-bears.html
 
Terriers see off bear!

A slow-moving, rotund bear visited a home in the hills of Pasadena, California.

Caught on security cameras, it took a sip from the backyard fountain before it wandered into the kitchen and casually inspected the other rooms. A moment later two tiny dogs appeared. They yipped furiously, little legs ablur, and gave chase to the brazen ursine intruder. The bear retreated to the backyard, looked in disbelief at the strange miniature coyotes, then regretfully took its leave in search of a quieter environment.

https://boingboing.net/2021/04/12/w...ot-chased-out-by-2-tiny-enraged-terriers.html

 
ramonmercado said:
Terriers see off bear!

A slow-moving, rotund bear visited a home in the hills of Pasadena, California.

Caught on security cameras, it took a sip from the backyard fountain before it wandered into the kitchen and casually inspected the other rooms. A moment later two tiny dogs appeared. They yipped furiously, little legs ablur, and gave chase to the brazen ursine intruder. The bear retreated to the backyard, looked in disbelief at the strange miniature coyotes, then regretfully took its leave in search of a quieter environment.

https://boingboing.net/2021/04/12/w...ot-chased-out-by-2-tiny-enraged-terriers.html

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Pasadena is not rural. It's also just FYI one of the very highest price per sf real estate areas in the country. Also I don't think this is a black bear, it might be a young grizzly. Lucky it was the terriers and not the two-year-old.
 
Lb8535 said:
Pasadena is not rural. It's also just FYI one of the very highest price per sf real estate areas in the country. Also I don't think this is a black bear, it might be a young grizzly. Lucky it was the terriers and not the two-year-old.
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Definately a skinny grizzly
 
Lb8535 said:
Pasadena is not rural. It's also just FYI one of the very highest price per sf real estate areas in the country. Also I don't think this is a black bear, it might be a young grizzly. Lucky it was the terriers and not the two-year-old.
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I was wondering about that but I thought California only had black bears.
 
ramonmercado said:
I was wondering about that but I thought California only had black bears.
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I wouldn't expect them in the west, but that bear is big and not black. Black bears really are black at least in NY they are. Edit after some research: There are black bears in CA but they are brown. There are no grizzlies left in CA . But grizzlies are a type of brown bear and there are brown bears in CA. Neither black nor brown would. be expected to be anywhere near Pasadena. California brown bears are 3.5 times more likely to be aggressive than polar bears. So there you go.
 
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Downhill Race!

Black bear chases after a mountain biker speeding downhill in the Montana Rockies in nail-biting footage
  • Black bear was spotted chasing after a mountain biker speeding downhill
  • The hair-raising encounter ends with both of them racing off into woodland
  • Sports company who released the footage say the man did escape the animal
  • The clip was filmed at a resort in the Rocky Mountains near Whitefish, Montana

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...na-Rockies.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline
 
A Colorado woman is believed to have been killed by a black bear.
Colorado woman dies in rare black bear attack, authorities believe

A 39-year-old Colorado woman died in an apparent black bear attack, marking just the fourth fatal mauling in the state since record-keeping began in 1960, authorities said on Saturday.

The woman's boyfriend found her body on Friday night near the town of Durango, about 350 miles (563.27 km) southwest of Denver ...

The man told police he arrived home around 8:30 p.m. and found the couple’s two dogs outside, but his girlfriend was missing. He then searched a trail on private land where she frequently walked the dogs and notified authorities after discovering her body. ...

An autopsy of the victim is pending, but authorities found bear fur, scat and “signs of consumption on the body” ...

Using tracking dogs, wildlife officers located a 10-year-old sow and two yearlings nearby, and euthanized the three bears “out of an abundance of caution” ...

The bear carcasses were transported to the state’s wildlife laboratory for necropsies, and DNA samples will be analyzed at a forensic laboratory in Wyoming. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.reuters.com/business/en...k-bear-attack-authorities-believe-2021-05-01/
 
EnolaGaia said:
A Colorado woman is believed to have been killed by a black bear.
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Update ... It appears the authorities were justified in euthanizing the sow and two cubs found nearby.
Human remains found in 2 of 3 bears euthanized after woman killed in Colorado

Human remains were found in two of the three black bears euthanized after they were found near a woman’s body in Colorado. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.wearecentralpa.com/news...rs-euthanized-after-woman-killed-in-colorado/
 
bear-wires-AZ-2105.jpeg

:omg: Russian Hacker Attacks Arizona Network Lines; Defies Authorities :omg:​

But seriously ...

This black bear caused a scene by climbing up utility poles in Douglas, Arizona and perching there for a while. Although the article refers to it as a brown bear, it's a black bear of the less black-ish hue typical in the American Southwest.
Photos Show Brown Bear Climbing Arizona Utility Poles

An Arizona highway closure this weekend had an unlikely cause: a brown bear had climbed a series of utility poles, as documented in a charming series of photos.

As reported by KYMA News 11, part of US Highway 191 was shut down after police were notified of a bear sighting. According to the TV station, one officer described the scene: "[The bear] was up on one pole, then came down and went up a second one nearby."

The Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGFD) in Tucson posted images of the bear on Twitter. The pictures show the seemingly-relaxed creature sitting on power lines, oblivious to the ground-level commotion it has caused. ...

AZGFD crew members waited at the scene, trying to figure out how to best remove the bear from the utility pole. As comfortable it appeared, the bear actually faced significant risk of electrocution. ...
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FULL STORY (With Additional Photos): https://www.newsweek.com/photos-show-brown-bear-climbing-arizona-utility-poles-1590197
 
EnolaGaia said:
View attachment 39199
:omg: Russian Hacker Attacks Arizona Network Lines; Defies Authorities :omg:​

But seriously ...

This black bear caused a scene by climbing up utility poles in Douglas, Arizona and perching there for a while. Although the article refers to it as a brown bear, it's a black bear of the less black-ish hue typical in the American Southwest.

FULL STORY (With Additional Photos): https://www.newsweek.com/photos-show-brown-bear-climbing-arizona-utility-poles-1590197
Click to expand...

It doesn't look very good does it? The fur looks dull and sparse as well as tuft in places. There's a big strip of fur missing on it's snout and it's nose looks so dry. Maybe it was already electrocuted and no one saw it happen?
 
This is also a grizzly but, I wanted to post it here because this guy knows exactly what he is doing and I think it's important because it does not really matter what kind of bear it is. You must be very assertive and loud to scare it away.

Real Grizzly Bear Charge Handled Live​


 
Thanks for reminding me, @michael59 - there's a bit in the new FT about a black bear "friendly virus". More details here:
News story

There seems to be a brain disease affecting black bears that makes them friendly to humans, and nobody knows why. Before you think, great, a bear for a pet, it also makes them underweight and pest-ridden. But this could explain some of the bear stories in the news recently.
 
EnolaGaia said:
This black bear caused a scene by climbing up utility poles in Douglas, Arizona and perching there for a while. Although the article refers to it as a brown bear, it's a black bear of the less black-ish hue typical in the American Southwest.
Click to expand...
It's happened again in southern Arizona. This doesn't appear to be the same bear, and this time the bear became tangled in the elevated wires atop the pole.
Bear found stuck on power pole in southern Arizona city

Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, a utility company based in the southern Arizona city of Willcox, was notified Monday morning that a bear was tangled in power pole wires on the outskirts of town.

Werner Neubauer, a company lineman, said they immediately disabled the power so the animal would not get electrocuted. Neubauer then went up in a bucket lift and used an 8-foot (2-meter) fiberglass stick to try to nudge the bear to go down. He even tried talking to it.

“I think I told him I was gonna help him get down the pole,” Neubauer said. “I know he couldn’t understand me. But it did get his attention.”

After grabbing and biting the stick at times, the bear eventually climbed down and ran off into the desert. ...

This is the second time in a month that a bear has been spotted in a southern Arizona city.
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FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/arizona-bears-oddities-feedb093bc605aaab3d67d406943890b
 
"Exceptional drought" in Arizona plus extreme hot weather (extreme even for Arizona) and habitat destruction are probably driving bears (and other animals) to extreme measures in search of food and relief. :(
 
What's with all the climbing bears that have become stranded lately? :dunno:

BearRescueVA-210611.jpg
Bear rescued from rafters at Virginia manufacturing plant

Wildlife officials in Virginia were summoned to a manufacturing plant when a bear somehow ended up stranded in the ceiling rafters.

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources posted a photo to Facebook showing the bear clinging to the rafters about 20 feet off the ground without any clear methods of climbing back down. ...

The department said a "chemical immobilization dart" was used to keep the bear from struggling while officials used heavy equipment, including a forklift, to bring the animal back down to the ground level.

The bear was examined by a veterinarian and found to be uninjured before being transported to "a suitable site for release," the department said. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/0...-plant-Pulaski-County-Virginia/4331623352345/
 
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