Well I finally got to see a bear today. Crossing the road in front of me and taking off

[Shagbark Hickory]

Ask me anything.

[trof]

1. Black bear?

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. Yep.

And it was very big. I thought they were supposed to be kinda small.

[petronius]

3. Awesome! I love seeing bears in the wild

And I think the 'small' is only in relation to other very very large bears... :)

[bluedigger]

4. "Taking off"?

Was he a bare bear?





:hide:

[Shagbark Hickory]

12. I could've sworn it was carrying a package of Charmin.

Either it was afraid of me or it had to go really bad.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

5. I'm a wolf not a Bear!

Oh, wait...where was this? It might not have been me.

[struggle4progress]

6. Were you overcome with an urge to smear a toddler with honey so you could get a cute photo

of said bear licking said toddler?

A park ranger once told he had once been forced to intervene in such an effort at photo-staging

[Shagbark Hickory]

11. I wish I could've got any photo at all.

Right now it feels like a bigfoot sighting.
Both in the sense that I saw an elusive creature but also because I don't have any evidence to prove it when people say "oh sure you did".

[Orrex]

7. Why did the bear cross the road?

[WillParkinson]

8. Was there a forest on the other side?

And did you go look to see if they really do it in the woods?

[CottonBear]

9. Did you see the bear in Gwinnett County?

I know that some young male bears have migrated to the North Georgia suburbs in an effort to find their own territory. One poor bear was hit and killed while trying to cross I-85 in Gwinnett.

I have a friend who saw a bear in rural Oconee County last year. I have not seen one in Athens but I'm sure there are some living here in the more rural areas.

edit: I did see our Memorial Park Zoo bear, DJ, when I took my little son to the zoo last week! The zoo animals can not live in the wild due to injuries or socialization issues. DJ has a very nice natural environment and two new friends: a pair of orphaned bear cubs! My son's favorite animal is the tiny red, one-eyed screech owl. He/she is so cute!

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. No. This was in Rabun county.

I know, I know. Rabun is obviously comfortably inside the range of the black bear.

I heard of someone striking a bear on Sugarloaf pkwy about a month ago but not I-85. Is that a new one?

[CottonBear]

14. You are right. It was Sugarloaf Parkway. I thought it happened on I-85.

Black bears are so beautiful!

I grew up on the mountains. I'm sure that Rabun Co. is spectacular this time of year.

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. It had a beautiful shiny black coat.

It could be in a commercial for Pantene. In fact that's what caught my eye was this glimmering healthy looking coat.
The first round of color has peaked in the lower elevations but the oaks and hickories are starting to come alive. Still a week or two left to enjoy it if you can get up that way.

[CottonBear]

18. Thanks for the leaf update! I need to put the little man in the car & go this weekend! n/t

[LynneSin]

13. I've seen a bear crap - so THERE

Top that

[Shagbark Hickory]

16. That's pretty impressive.

I've forever seeing them wipe their asses on TV with Charmin but never actually seen them take a crap.

[meegbear]

17. I don't recall being in Georgia ... are you sure?

[Shagbark Hickory]

19. I'm not certain that it was you .

Are you a really big black bear with a shiny coat? :shrug: