Going On A Bear Hunt

Andrew's favorite song at story time is 'Going On A Bear Hunt'. I never would have thought we could have really gone on a bear hunt in our suburban neighborhood. Yes, a bear was sighted in our actual neighborhood! This picture was taken with a neighbors trail cam.

When I checked my email this morning I had an email from my friend Becky saying " I heard a black bear has been sighted eating from someone’s birdfeeder in your neighborhood!". WHAT! I had no idea. I turned on the news and as soon as I did the reporter was talking about it. Crazy!

The newspaper read:

The bear was caught on a trail camera as it was eating bird feed in someone's backyard, according to a release from the police. Several photos were taken between 8:30 and 11:00 pm on Sunday, and one is attached to this article.
Although there were no conflicts involving the bear, police are asking that pets be kept on leashes.
Bear sightings aren't common, but there have been reports of them during this time of the year, the release says.
"Most problems can be resolved through simple actions, such as temporarily taking down bird feeders, taking in pet food, or storing garbage in an area unavailable to bears, like a garage," the release says. "Removing or making attractants unavailable to bears is a critical step in resolving bear/human conflicts."
It continues: "It is equally important for people to be patient. It may take several days for the bear to learn that it is no longer going to be provided with a free meal."

A last resort would be capturing and relocating the bear, which would happen only if the bear becomes a nuisance or threat.

There are no recorded bear attacks on humans in Georgia, the release says.

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I guess I should be more cautious when I send Andrew outside to play! We are not telling him about the bear because he went through a phase of being fearful of bears outside our window at night. He would run past the window and when we asked him why he said "there's a bear out there". Who knows... maybe he was right! Ha! But I do not need my energetic 3 year to be scared to go outside and play.