Four Bears...

We've had four different bears wander through in the month of June and I've got video of all of them.  I'm trying something different this time around to try and make it easier for you to watch them.  I used the Windows video editor to put individual clips together into a single video of each bear.  Let me know if you think it's better or worse...

I'm going to start with Handsome because, well, he's Handsome.  I know I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but he's been my neighbor for a number of years now and I just love seeing him.  I think this is a really cool video because it's at night, the infrared from the other camera provides a really interesting backdrop, and the detail you get from camera is incredible.  Seeing his breath when he exhales, watching him drop down onto a forearm to drink, hearing the water as he walks through the spring, seeing how big he is when he stands up and scratches against the tree.  It's really awesome...

Next we have a bear I call Baloo.  He's another big male and he's not afraid to let everyone know.  I'm sure his messages are particularly aimed at Handsome.  Standing up against the trees and rubbing isn't just because these guys want a backscratch.  They leave scent so that other bears in the area know who they are.   Leaving it high on the tree also provides an indication of their size and may be a way of warning other, smaller bears not to challenge them.  Baloo and Handsome are pretty similar in size, I think.  I'd hate to see them tangle.

Apologies for the length of the video, but Baloo spent a lot of time this month scratching on different trees.  He also likes a bath every now and then.  It cracks me up...  

Our next bear is a smaller, black bear that I'm calling "Crash."  Crash has a big dent on his left side (thus, crash).  Could be a scar or it may be that he just laid on it funny while sleeping this past winter.  Yep, bears get bed head, too.  Anyway, notice that he doesn't appear to have ears, either.  I think they're there, just really small and hidden by the fur on his head...

Bear number 4 (last one for this post, I promise!) is a young bear and he's full of trouble.  According to our local game warden, he's an orphan bear.  He was rescued when he lost his mom, rehabilitated and released back into the wild.  Given that he's an orphan, I'm calling him Mowgli.  Let's hope Baloo helps him out (ala "Jungle Book") so that he learns how to feed himself without getting into more trouble.  Not much chance of that, though.  These aren't cartoon bears, after all.  I think little Mowgli is going to have to figure things out on his own.

Three videos here.  First one shows him at the water hole.  You'll see how little and skinny he is.  He's still got a cub coat, with lots of blond highlights.  Second video shows him trying to eat my trailcam.  The third video is the troubling one.  The video comes from one of my neighbor's security cams and shows Mowgli breaking into the neighbor's house through an open window.  He made short work of the screen and hopped up on the sill leading into their master bathroom.  Fortunately for everyone, the neighbors were home and having dinner with a small group of friends.  Mowgli must have heard them because he turned right around and left before there were any close encounters.  It's a longer story than this, but let's just say that we're all on the lookout for this guy.  Bears don't get too many chances before their euthanized, and we're all hoping that he figures out how to feed himself before something tragic happens.  The good news is that he hasn't been sighted for a couple of weeks now...

That's all for this week.  Hope you enjoyed the videos.  I'll keep you posted if anything new happens with Mowgli.

​As always, your comments and feedback are welcome...