Damn I hate bears, the subject gets me tied up in knots.
This area was bear free for years, as I was told as a kid there was nothing in the woods that would harm me. This led to me in TENN. wandering about the woods bare foot and people thinking I was totally nuts.
Snakes, Cotton Mouth, Rattlers as big as a small tree, then the Chiggers in the fields and Lord knows what else.
So I come home to the safe New Englang woods of my youth. Heck there are now Rattle snakes , Bears and Coy dogs, now we have Coyotes and Canadian Wolves moving in. Moose in rutting season is a danger to people and some times their cars when a Moose decides to Mate with it.
This is just a gap between generations, what we as kids did is now off limits to the kids of today. Sad but this is the way things go in in life.
My Generation lived with little fear, we could run wild in the woods, walk down the street with no fear of strangers, our school teachers were not seducing the kids, the only thing that has not changed is those damn Bears.
They are still as nasty eating machines as ever----any bear within sight of of a populated area needs to GO. One way or another, darn I hate bears.
Sparky make sure Scoobs has a loaded shot gun by the back door, just in case the kids are outside and a hungry bear makes it into your back yard.