If Only I'd Had My Camera...Critter Shots!

The bears are out! Monday @ 6 pm, April 9th: In spite of all the cold weather, the black bears are on the move in east Tennessee. My friend Jan saw one in her backyard a couple of days ago and this Monday afternoon at about 6 pm he/she came rambling down the hillside to check out the free food situation in her yard. Several minutes later it visited again, this time coming on down into the yard to look around where the bird feeders usually hang and then to explore around the back porch. Finally it moved next door where a new house is being built--if bears could talk then this one might have said "I'm thinking Hardees, now where are those monster-size honey biscuits?"

This is likely the same bear that last autumn destroyed her bird feeders and left paw prints on her car and scratches on trees in her front yard. Since then she takes her bird feeders inside at dusk each day.

It is a beautiful bear. However, watching wildlife that could view you as its next meal without becoming its source of food is a bit of a risk. That Jan lives on the edge! Thanks for the photos Jan. Click here to see all photos.

UPDATE: Jan reports the bear continues to visit--usually in the evening. It isn't finding any food at her house but still she frequently sees the bear standing in the edge of her yard with those hopeful eyes. The game warden is monitoring the situation and the highway department has promised to remove the open trash containers from the nearby roadside park picnic area until the hungry bear is no longer a problem.

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