There's bears and then there's BEARS!

Several years ago Mark and I started to purchase and set out some game cameras at the Bolt Hole. Prior to that we knew there were, for sure one or two deer and a bear or two frequenting the area. (This based upon the number of tracks in the road, sightings on the lawn, break ins of cabins, etc.)

Also two years ago, there was the older German woman down the road who was known to be feeding bears in her yard. (It’s legal to feed bears but not deer in NYS. In PA you can feed deer but not bears …go figure.) She reported as many as thirteen (13) coming to her feed piles in her yard. I vividly recall the Saturday I was driving past her place at noon when one of the large “rocks” in front and on the roadside stood up and ran behind her house.

Now that we have several cameras out and check them regularly, we KNOW there are many bears out there. We even captured a sequence last year of two bears mating. This may have been the result of that night of passion.



It is certainly one of the reasons I am reluctant to walk down to the creek to go fishing. This camera is set up between the cabin and the creek. Male bears will run. Single female bears will run. Mama bears and her cubs…not so much. One sound from her and the cubs climb a tree. She will not leave the area until she has neutralized the danger. I would prefer not to be neutralized.