Black Bears

I've lived in the Shire quite a while,

but I can't recall ever hearing much about black bears in our early years here.

It seems as development has encroached on the black bear habitat,

more bear-human encounters are being reported.

Here's a file photo from The Virginian-Pilot newspaper of a black bear:

www.hamptonroads.com

I think the bear in the previous photo looks like a large dog,

but black bears grow to 150-250 lbs. That's a lot of bear grease.

(The Virginian-Pilot is a good source for black bear stories.

You can access the newspaper at www.pilotonline.com.)

One of my friends saw a black bear on the Dismal Swamp Nature Trail

a couple of years ago.

And last summer, a black bear made off with a couple of backyard bird feeders

in a neighborhood in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Unlike raccoons, which favor a lift and drop approach to feeder thieving,

black bears apparently prefer to carry their prize a safe distance

before enjoying the spoils,

as the homeowner reported a trail of birdseed was the only thing left.

www.morguefile.com

Recently, a friend of my husband's spotted a black bear 

roaming along a treeline in Surry County 

and managed to get a couple of photos.

In this first photo, the bear is nearly invisible 

in the upper right corner, toward the center:

Photo credit: Claiborne

In this photo, it's moved away from the trees, into the cornfield:

Photo Credit: Claiborne

And finally, the bear makes its way along the road:

Photo Credit: Claiborne

Black bear sightings are so common in Virginia,

the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

has a long list of do's and don'ts for handling a bear encounter;

including this little gem for what to do when a black bear enters your camp tent:

"if a bear enters your tent, fight back and yell."

The fighting back part seems a little chance-y,

but the yelling part? Uh, yeah.

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