Black bear in our yard
From what I looked up black bears won't bother you if you don't bother them but are we supposed to report a bear sighting in our yard to Animal Control? Anyway there was one in our yard last night in Hastings Square. It seemed harmless enough but it was my 2 year old who saw it first (my husband was with him) and we don't know much about bears so we weren't sure what to think at first. Our dog chased it away.
melissa c Melissa- Bears are like seeing Deer for me.
We always have them around. Unless they are becoming problem bears nothing will be done to them.
Nosila That's good to know. :) I did not grow up around here; I grew up in a big city where any bear sighting would have freaked people out. I'm actually somewhat disappointed that I didn't get to see the bear, although I probably would have been scared. My husband said it just seemed like a big harmless teddy bear. :)
I woudn't call ACO about bears unless they become a problem either. I usually just yell at them to go away or my dog chases them away.
Iris Holy crap, in Hastings? What part? I'll have to tell my husband to keep a lookout when he walks the dog.
Tracy (mobile) We're in Independence. We are seeing many more Black Bear this year than we have in past years on a fairly regular basis. We've seen 4 at the same time this year behind our house, 3 together, and usually 2 together. We see Bears about twice a week either in the woods behind our house or in the clearing. One actually came up on the deck and looked into the kitchen window while I was sitting at the table. Although we keep no garbage cans, food, grills, bird feeders or anything else outside that will attract them since they have a Very keen sense of smell they often travel through this area seeking food at other places. They are beautiful wild animals.
Mrs. Pipes Melissa - You can add your sighting to the list of places in Long Valley - click on this link
http://longvalley.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/bear-sightings-growing-in-long-valley--have-you-seen-them
BLDBlack bears are pretty non threatening for the most part, they scare easily and don't really want anything to do with you. I've seen a lot of them while out mowing, usually the noise scares them off. Any wild animal can be dangerous if the circumstances are right. I had a buck almost charge at me while working because he had his infants with him. Was more scared of that than seeing a black bear.
Like others have said, don't leave anything out that they will want to eat and they won't hang around long.
Penningslandscaping Mrs. Pipes I live in Independence as well, and have seen many bears. We haven't had any in our yard in the past month, but unfortunately one was hit and killed on our road.
Melissa C. calling wil do nothing. I called because we had two that were around all hours of the day and night,and started making their way towards our porch. I contacted fish and game and was told unless they are inside your house nothing can be done.
Sher 
Right now, it's bear mating season. That's the reason why there are so many running around. Saw a 400 pound male following a female through the yard.
Melissa - everyone's right. Calling won't do anything. But the bear up here aren't really destructive and they do usually run away.
This 400 lb guy is the one we helped F&W rescue because the tracking collar had grown into his neck and was slowly choking him. I think he's grateful and we see him quite often. :-)
azgirl69 It is true that the Black Bear will not bother you. If they are with cubs they might behave in a threatening way. But, they will go after small animals when they are fattening themselves prior to going to Den. Friends of ours in this area had 2 pygmy goats as pets. I won't go into what happened to the goats, but they were history. As I recall the proper authorities were called, they came, took the report and said nothing would be done to the Bear. This was a few years ago, and I don't remember all details. So, in addition to everything said about about what Not to leave outsisw that Bear might investigate(they are very inquisitive) ... don't leave pet food outside either.
your making me hungry as a Bear.. I think I will go to Mac-Donalds and order a Big Mac
Dopa Great picture, azgirl69! I was thrilled that they were able to catch him and redo his collar. I also have to look around on my deck before I go out since I have found them napping there and in that position!!
I live in DH in Mansfield and see Black Bear often. Maybe it's the same one. I had the best surprise and scare the night before Easter. I went to let the dig out the back door and there was a bear hanging from the upper deck. We both frightened each other but it was like viewing a little kid hanging from the Monkey Bars. I wish I would have grabbed my camera or phone before the dog chased him away.
NJKID1010 I agree with most everyone here that black bears are mostly harmless to people. But, as the parent of a small child, you should keep in mind that they are opportunists like most animals. If there is a possibility of bear in the area, small children need to be well supervised when outside. There was a tragic case in the Catskills a few years back, when family left a young child outside unsupervised.
gadfly Gadfly, yes, exactly. My 2 year old thought nothing of seeing the bear. Plus, even if it's only a 1% chance (or whatever the right percentage is) that a bear might do something, no one wants to their child to be that 1%.
A bear on your decks? Love the imagery of one hanging off the deck. I would have been scared but so intrigued!
This would be scary!
http://www.viralviralvideos.com/2014/06/16/two-runners-encounter-black-bear-while-hiking-in-canada/
Hi Melissa, Here is a photo of a bear cub on the deck rail at a friend's house. He's just a baby bear and already he knows to go for the bird feeder.
Will H I'm in Independence too and bears are quite common. I used to take pictures of them, but not anymore - don't want to fill up my hard drive.
Actually I was driving up Old Mine Road in the Water Gap a few hours ago and a clearly suicidal bear tried to run under my wheels.
RAD Saw a bear jogging up Willow Grove St. by Steven State Park it ducked in the woods near the camping area as my truck approached on Saturday.
RU Saturday night I was coming off Route 80 and saw one crossing 517 headed towards 80. Just moseying across the road, the way bears do.
Lynnada Melissa I live in Hastings too and walk all around do you mind telling me where it was? Are you at the top of the hill? I've only heard they were up there before just curios.
Phne Awww it is so cute! Thanks for sharing that picture, Will!
Yes near the top of the hill.
I live in Great Meadows and look for bears all the time but never see any. Very disappointing. :( wish they were in my backyard.....I love to see them! But always remember, they may look cute and cuddly but they're still a wild animal and should never be approached or fed. And if you see a cub, you can bet the mother isn't far away, and will do anything to protect her cubs.
Understanding 
I had an interesting meet last Friday while walking also on Old Mine road in the gap. This guy didn't realize I was walking towards him on the trail and kept coming towards me. I did not run but stood my ground and grabbed two rocks and kept banging them together till he got the hint and turned back.
We live in Mount Ridge in PV and a large black bear has been spotted several times our woods and walking down the street.
Pretty much minding it's own business , just passing through
BrandyB I keep hearing about the one from Mountain Ridge. I saw one on Duck hawk one night and a few days ago I saw one on Deer run.Wonder if its the same one.
luvjaz Grascal I can't believe you had the wherewithal to take that pic! The bear looks huge, and he's coming right at you. Nice shot. Glad you were able to scare him away.
Rebecka So it's 9:15 am or so and all of sudden my dog, Sophie, does the 'there's a bear on the deck' barking. I run downstairs and sure enough there he/she is, all 250 to 300 lbs of him going after my bird feeder which I had just put out. So I open the slider a crack, yell at him to get off the deck, which he does, and takes off into the woods as I keep yelling at him. I guess no bird feeders for a while!
Check out this video of a hunter in a tree stand - amazing how fast they can get up a tree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jRTrRxamxQ
Ok, was 20 feet from a big black bear this morning in my yard, with my dog. Scared me to death. Mom says I should report it to the police just so they are aware its roaming the yards where little kids live. We are on Route 57. Does it make sense to report it?
I wouldn't report it unless it's making a nuisance of itself by ripping up property repeatedly. Bears are more scared of you than them. Check out this video. The bear climbs up a tree that has a hunter sitting in a tree stand. What does the bear do? He splits when he realizes the tree is already occupied.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jRTrRxamxQ
Calico696 People keep telling me that they are more scared of us then we are of them, but guess what my heart is still pounding and I'am afraid to go out or let the dog out. Bet the bear got over it.
Years ago Yogi was sitting in a tree at the Hack. Middle School. I don't know how the police got involved, I assume they were called. Because it was a residential area, and the bear was still there, they did come and "escort" (lol) him out of town.
I suspect if Yogi is in a residential area NOW it wouldn't hurt to let the police know, but if he's gone already they won't be able to do a thing about.
Bears are here, we just have to be aware and like Calico said, they really are afraid of us and if a bit of noise is made they will run away.
littlelu Bear went through our neighborhood on Sunday. It went through in all of 45 seconds, even if we called it's far away by the time they would get there. If it was hanging around, wouldn't hesitate to call.
GC Dead black bear cub found in NYC's Central Park. Poor little cub. Seems like foul play is involved. If that's the case, I hope they can figure out who the dirtbag is who harmed it.
https://gma.yahoo.com/black-bear-cub-found-dead-central-park-202100326--abc-news-topstories.html
The news this morning showed a bicycle on top of the cub. Definitely sounds like foul play.
botheredbyuu2 
emaxxman Scumbag(s) should be beaten and left in DWG on a cold dark night.
Justice system does too little to these bastards.
...but balance was restored! - emaxx
Not by a person killing an innocent cub. Balance is controlled by legal hunting (following all season and limit requirements) and nature.
I live in long valley / califon and we had a bear in our yard 2 days in a row. Seemed to be looking for food. Hard to tell if it was make or female but definitely big. Neighbor report seeing it in the past year too. Any good tips on how to keep them out of our yard? I have young children.
Longvalleymom 
keep your garbage cans inside. If you do put your garbage out the night before pickup then covert the can to "bear proof" by adding a bungle cord and few holes.
We had a nice big one the other week- on the mountain in LV also. DH took a cool video. Remember to also take in any bird feeders at night. Nice strong bungee cords on the trash cans if you can't put them in the garage.
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