It’s a black bear just outside my backdoor! Okay, I live in Alaska, and I expect to see wildlife(it was a moose in my backyard night before last). But I’m sorry, I just don’t like seeing a bear taking his sweet time wondering around my yard. And he wasn’t small-he just looks it in the photo because it was taken from a 2nd story looking down at him. He walked around my house, twice! If I had been outside, I would have begun to think he was stalking me (yes, black bears will do that on occasion-stalk you, kill you, and eat you). After we stared at each other for a few seconds(me from the 2nd floor, through a window), he casually began to make his way up the driveway. Then, 2 dogs from across the street got wind of him and began barking. He began to run, then the 2 dogs(golden retriever and rottweiler) began to chase him. I don’t think they got too close to him, but ran around in circles close enough to where he continued running.
There was an article in today’s newspaper about a couple in Anchorage who came home last night to a black bear in their kitchen. It had pulled his refrigerator out, figured out how to open the freezer and helped himself to a frozen chicken, and was slinging cabinet drawers across the kitchen. It began to get aggressive towards them, so they got a gun and shot and killed it. The bears are hungry right now. Very soon they will begin to have some food to eat-moose calves. Yes, those newborn calves are a favorite of bears. Isn’t nature just lovely sometimes? At least soon after that, the salmon will begin to run and there will be fish for them to eat. Another day living in Alaska…