Bear Attack!

After a long night of barking and loud bangs, I can now confirm we have a large black bear on the property.  Monday morning was spent collecting evidence, clearing bodies and building barriers.

After analyzing each bit of evidence (eye witness and forensic), we were able to piece together the night of "bear terror."  We believe he started on my parents' side of the property.  A barbecue earlier in the evening may have attracted the bear to their trash cans.  The bear left hind footprints in the mud as he stood to knock over the garbage.

After eating some fish, our bear went to check out the chicken coop.  Here you can see he tested the front door with his paw, then put his front paws on the roof of the coop to peer in.

Our hens are old, tough broads.  They were more excited about the chicken food the bear had strewn about the yard than their near death experiences.  

Pooh then walked over to our side of the property to check on his friends, the bees.  This is where our bear had the most fun.  He devoured tons of bee larvae and left the adults hanging on for dear life.  The number of dead bees on the ground was staggering.  The bear had to have been stung countless times.  

I called Glenn at work to tell him about his bees.  He rushed home to try and save all of the bees he could.

The bees were loud and angry, but Glenn was only stung once.  Here is a picture of some brood that was devoured by the bear.  Glenn built a fence around his hive and we are hoping the bear won't be able to knock it over.  It will be a miracle if Glenn's girls survive this attack.

A neighbor called to let us know he saw a bear trying to get into his house the same night.  The neighborhood is now on high alert.  We are all hoping that the bear wanders back into the woods.  In the mean time, we are keeping the chickens locked up tight and have Lotta keeping the livestock safe!