Black Bears in Cook County!

 There have been an exceptional number of bear encounters in Cook County, Minnesota this year.  I have had two confirmed close encounters with them in the last month.

The first encounter was at my place on Gunflint Lake.  I was baking chocolate coconut bars with my friend, socially distanced 300 miles away.  We had shared these bars before, so I sent her the recipe, we each purchased our own materials (graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk, coconut, and chocolate chips) and made the dessert together over FaceTime.

When the bars were about done, I heard a scratching noise out on my porch.  I opened my inner door to investigate, and found myself just inches from a yearling black bear.  So my friend could enjoy the moment too, I turned my iPad around to show her, before rapping hard on the flimsy glass door between the bear and me, and yelling "go away."  It turned around and walked off into the woods.  Black bears are governed my fear and then food, so it is usually pretty easy to scare them away.

A few nights ago, one of my co-workers saw a large bear near my place.  Last night, I heard a loud "huff" outside my window, but by the time I turned on the light, it was gone.

On the 29th of September, WTIP North Shore Community Radio put out an interesting story called Bear Issues Continue in Grand Marais and North Shore in Fall 2020.  When I was in Grand Marais today, I saw a large black bear eating apples near the Cook County Higher Education building.  I stopped and got some pictures.  My camera has a good zoom lens, so I am was not as close to the bear as it may seem.

This bear wasn't getting into mischief, he or she was just getting ready for the winter.  Their normal food supply of berries was a total bust this year; I don't remember the last time we had such a lousy crop.  Due to their lack of food, and the rapidly approaching hibernation season, they are getting bolder.  

If you live in bear country, make sure to secure garbage and food (including sunflower seeds) so bears cannot access those things.  I have heard many experts emphatically say that there is no such things as a problem bear, only problem people.  The bears destructive behaviors are learned from the careless action of people.  These behaviors are bad for people, and worse for bears.  For their own good, please be careful not to attract them.  They are more fun to see in their natural habitat.

I recommend closing your ground floor windows in unoccupied rooms at night.  If they smell food, a screen is not going to stop them from coming in and helping themselves.  For the same reason, it is best to avoid putting food on a screen porch.

I often get asked what to do when you encounter a black bear.  Here are my suggestions of things to do and not to do when encountering a black bear:

• Bears are governed by fear and then food.  Stand your ground and act big.  Jump up and down, clap your hands, and yell.  They will generally be scared enough to go away.
• Slowly back away.  Do not run from them! Black bears can run at 30 miles per hour, and they have an instinct to pounce on something that is running away.
• Do not try to escape by climbing a tree.  They are the most incredible climbers imaginable, and can easily pass you on the way up.
• The Forest Service recommends throwing something at them.  I find that if something lands right next to them, they generally quickly run away.

• Some people say to bang pots and pans together, but I find that just wrecks your dishes, and only works temporarily on the bear.  Personally, I avoid that tactic.
• Some people use bear spray, but you to be very careful with that stuff.  I know two people who had the bear spray come back at them, and had to have a very long eye rinse to stop the stinging.  Unless you are dealing with another larger species of bear (such as a grizzly bear), I would avoid this approach.

One last bear tidbit.  In the stock market, you hear of bear and bull markets.  A bear's claws go down, as does a bear market.  The bull's horns go up, as does a bull market.