I just had a nice visit with a black bear cub at my house. He came to my playground, explored the yard and then took his place at the patio table waiting for someone to bring snacks. It was a good day for a real life teddy bear picnic! I say it was a nice visit because the cub enjoyed himself outside while I watched from the safety of my house.
I am sorry for the poor quality of the photos but I was shooting through windows and rushing from room to room trying to get good angles. As a result the picture clarity isn’t nearly as good as it could have been had I gone outside to take the photos. However, with a bear that size I didn’t want to do that no matter how friendly he looked!
Though the cub was far from fully grown he was still quite large. I could really appreciate his size as he came close to me to sniff at the windows. He was about the size of a full grown Saint Bernard and still has lots of growing to do. After he returned to the forest I went outside and took some measurements. The patio table stands 27 inches from the ground to table surface, and the bottom edge of the umbrella is at 57 inches. I estimate the bear standing on hind legs was just over 4 feet tall.
After the bear explored the yard he wandered around the house to my bedroom windows and then climbed up the granite ridge beside the house. That is one of the very same places I climb up the rocks to get into the forest too. Sometimes I make a leaf pile at the bottom of that ridge so I can jump into the pile from the rocks.
The bear climbed the granite and then approached an antique plow sitting on the ridge. He sniffed the plow handles for a moment and then vanished into the forest. Later in the evening he returned to the backyard to check out the playground and patio table again. We never leave food out there so he was probably picking up appetizing scents from all the bird feeders nearby.
A bear this size probably still has an enormous mother bear in the area so I have to be extra careful now when I go outside to explore and play. I usually move stealthily through the forest so I can see more wildlife but for now the best thing to do is make noise to avoid accidentally sneaking up on any bears!
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