critter pictures and ?

[mrbb 103]

OK< so I will start this up again here, as I did on the other honda sites

 those that know me or have followed any of the treads, this will be more of an update,  that a whole story line

 those that wish to see more, can feel free to go back to the other two sites and see a long time line on things

 

 ANY how

so, this past yr was hard yr on my local bears, I ain;t against hunting them either!

and I am glad folks do, I just don';t any more! its healthy for the bears when they are hunted IMO!

 

But this past yr, I started off  oddly with crazy weather swings up and down, it seemed to play heck with bears and when they were coming out of den giving birth and just plain showing up here

 I average about 18 different bears here every spring and by end of yr,  typically have 20 or so different one's i can tell apart, many are long time regulars, coming here for 12-15+ yrs!

so, I got to know them rather well, watched many grow from young to adults, even helped raise a few that ended up orphans.

 this past spring, I had local  shoot a bear for no real reasons,  out of season and left to rot

state game dept got involved, we have a idea WHO< but hard to prove!

 it was a young male from a liter the yr before, knew it from a cub!

 

most of my regular females that were due to have cubs and I KNEW made it thru legal hunting season, were all extremely late to show up, they typically would be here by early April if not sooner!

 and didn;t show up till almost June this yr and cubs were all very small yet, so late born, late coming out of den!

 these two females have been long time regulars, one was on its 5th set of cubs and other on third!

 the one was pretty much raised by me, showed up 8+ yrs ago, as an orphaned cub and I helped it make it thru its firsts yr, helped it after it got hit by a car its 3 rd yr,(early Nov this fall) and was a very friendly towards me bear, would sit on my deck with me for hours at a time, yet a 100% free ranging wild bear!

 She ended up getting hit and killed this yr by a vehicle a mile from me, leaving behind two orphaned cubs

 IN Early June, I also had a orphaned cub show up, the night before I heard some rifle shots and next morning it was here all alone? , again, we THINK a local shot the mother, and was left to rot!

 sadly, outlaws are extremely common in this part of the state!

 

all summer long I and a few neighbors have been helping the orphaned cub along, 

 after the other mother died, and left her two cubs orphaned, these 3 cubs all meet up and started becoming best of buddies, always hanging out and that was a good thing, increased there odds of making it thru there first winter

 I even Built them a den, with hopes of helping them  as  they honestly have NO clue to den on there own, its taught by there mothers, and well these 3, don't have that luxury , as they are now motherless!  

 

during this past hunting season, SO far I lost 5 different bears to local hunters

 and then two to local vehicles, and worse , 3 to poachers/outlaws

 as about a week ago, another bear was found dead, left to rot! a VERY large male, 600+ lbs, and one of my regulars, he was a twin, has a larger brother, and they been coming here about 15+ yrs now, so, down to one of them now!

 

opening day of rifle bear season, two of my orphaned cubs went MIA and have not been seen since

 MY last female with  her 2 cub also went missing(might be in a  den, or hoping so, as she too is  LONG time regular and  hate to see her go on top of all my others I lost this yr)

 I am pretty sure she is in a  den,a s if they shot her,  odds are one of her cubs would have shown up here by now?
 so fingers crossed she and them made it!

 

 tomorrow is last LEGAL day of bear hunting here

 and  the one orphan is still hanging in there, needs two get thru the busiest day tomorrow and should have a chance at making it thru his first yr, something very FEW orphaned cubs  get to do, all the more so, at the age he was orphaned at, at about 4 months old!

 

 

 here is a few pictures of the last orphan and the den I made for it, it goes in all the time, but doesn;t stay long, to warm right now, and well, again, it really just doesn;t know to STAY inside for a few months and sleep!

 

 Over the decades I have helped many bears make it, I have a TON of real bear hands on experience, having helped trap, tags, ID< move, study and handle them

there is more to things than just what seen in pictures

 but I share pictures here as I feel few get to see bears as I do, and there very interesting animals, not big mean things out to eat you, bear attacks are extremely rare!

 they need to be respected NOT fears folks!

 

 

also, I HAD a blanket in den and for what ever reason(been in there a 2 weeks or so) he decided to take it out last night, and seems rather happy with himself too for doing it! LOL

 and this male is about 70 lbs or so, so NOT a big bear by any means

 

 

 

 

[Melatv 774]

Hi: He is not liking the scent on the blanket -- keep putting it back in until he leaves it alone.  I like Bears they are fun to watch 

[mrbb 103]

and I will add these pic's as well,a s I DON"T Just get bears here, I get all sorts of wildlife, and about 1500+ pictures every week off the cam's on my property near my house there!

I am also surrounded by about 10,000+ acres of hunting club lands and sportsman club lands, with a few hundred members each!

 , so, critters here are hunted rather hard to be honest

 and many many times I will have many critters here at once,(can see the bear and deer in background, they NEVER bother  each other, even when deer have fawns here)

 deer, bears coons, cats, turkeys.skunks grouse,  foxes, if it lives in PA< I get it here  at times!

its like a zoo some days,

I have lots of fruit tree's food plots and  many things that draw wildlife all yr round

 

 a little FYI< the turkey you see below, THINKS Its a DEER, it is always alone with a group of doe, they ALWAYS show up together, which is ODD< turkeys are animals that live in flocks, NOT solo like this one is?

[mrbb 103]

3 minutes ago, Melatv said:

Hi: He is not liking the scent on the blanket -- keep putting it back in until he leaves it alone.  I like Bears they are fun to watch 

he had no issue with it for a while there, it was out for weeks before I added it to the den, so the smell should be something he is used to,

I think, he was just being a  kid, and playing with it,  long days in winter alone like he is now, has to pass time some how LOL

 there like little kids and love to play at this age, even in the cold and ice, they don;'t care!

 

I  did throw it back in again, will see if he takes it out again or not, if so, I'll repeat a few times  and if keeps coming out will leave it out, should be plenty warm enough in den  I made with out it

 its got 6+ inches of  insulation and then wrapped in about 30 bales of hay

should be warm enough I could make winter in it LOL

 

[Melatv 774]

Find him a big teddy bear

[mrbb 103]

1 minute ago, Melatv said:

Find him a big teddy bear

HAHA< that's funny, over the decades I TRIED giving cubs things like that to play with and oddly, they never would, have a teddy bear outside right now on my one riding mower in a open building where they walk by all the time, and NOTHING has ever tried to take it, BUT it does seem to keep some critters out of the building, just NOT bears

 they seem to find things they like with NO real reason, I drained fuel tank on ATV a few weeks back and wiped up spilled fuel with a  old towel, left it on outside work bench, and  had 5 different bears all playing with it  for over an hour the one night, 4 cubs(2 from each female) and one adult female (NO cubs), all playing tug a war, rolling about with it and climbing tree';s with it, and dropping  it, then racing down to get it before another bear could run off with it

 was crazy watching em  play with it, and it STUNK like gasoline something terrible

 I was a little worried they might eat it at one point!

 some nights here are just  a lot of fun to sit on my deck and watch things !

 

 

 

[Wheeler 2,468]

We have an abundance of bears in one area I hunt. Last week I just got mine back from taxidermist. I shot her late Sept 2018. It was my first bear, & due to the colour phase decided to give her a place on the wall. They are $2500 for a half mount, however the lady I used did it for $1400 to get her name out there. This was her second bear she's done.

[mrbb 103]

22 minutes ago, Wheeler said:

We have an abundance of bears in one area I hunt. Last week I just got mine back from taxidermist. I shot her late Sept 2018. It was my first bear, & due to the colour phase decided to give her a place on the wall. They are $2500 for a half mount, however the lady I used did it for $1400 to get her name out there. This was her second bear she's done.

congrats to you,. and YES< its gotten crazy how costly, taxidermy has gotten

 

when I first started hunting, a deer head was about a 100 bucks from a  GOOD shop

 I was a die hard hunter so, became friends with a  taxidermist,  and thank God I did, he used to do all things for me for his costs, all I had to do was help him, when he needed help,

I have almost 40 deer heads now, and countless other things, and most, if I told you what I paid, you wouldn;t believe me! L:OL

I also learned a lot bout taxidermy along the ways, and you'd be surprised how few hunters know the difference between a GOOD mount and a SO SO one and a POOR one, as so many just get one done and nothing else to compare it to, to see the difference up close and personal

 when my buddy used to travel to go to contest for it, and such, I learned a LOT, and when he finally gave it up, I traveled all over looking for another GOOD taxidermist and honestly couldn;t Find one.

 as I would go look at there work, and see, about HALF of the things  would look good then half would look shabby, as if they didn;t care on some things, and others they did extra care

 it sure made me realize how lucky I was for so long !

my last 3 heads I had done, are far from good, and would never recommend them, and I was picky picking them, even told them up front how much I knew about things and the difference in good and so so work

thinking maybe they would do better, due to I knew

 and well, no return business from me LOL

 if you have a good taxidermist,  be nice to them , there hard to replace!

 

 

 

 

[Bighanded 1,220]

The wife has a dozen trail cams around the back property...this is the favorite stump..she puts bobcat scent on it..( I don't wanna know how they bottle that stuff.. LOL...anyway..everything around seems to love that stuff...foxes, deer, etc..all stop at the stump

[mrbb 103]

1 minute ago, Bighanded said:

The wife has a dozen trail cams around the back property...this is the favorite stump..she puts bobcat scent on it..( I don't wanna know how they bottle that stuff.. LOL...anyway..everything around seems to love that stuff...foxes, deer, etc..all stop at the stump

no picture

 as for getting scents

 many get them from pen raised animals and grate floors with drains to collect things, and some  work with trappers that well, save it at time of processing it!

 

 rarely is it really JUST urine either, IMO
 from MY experience, bears here as well as many other critters are scare of bobcats and cats ingeneral, there just too sneaky and get too close without them knowing it

when a cat shows up here, or many of the farms I used to manage, deer and other things would take off for there lives out of food plots and such, even 20-500 yards away if they smelled em!

always found it funny to see big animals running away from small cats LOL

[Bighanded 1,220]

sorry..still learning how to use the new forum...try this

 

[Bighanded 1,220]

we have video of gray and red foxes up on this stump, rolling around on it like it's catnip..trying to get that scent all over them...funny..and yeah, the deer come right up to it and smell it...you'd think they would be worried about it instead of curious.

[Bighanded 1,220]

40 minutes ago, Wheeler said:

We have an abundance of bears in one area I hunt. Last week I just got mine back from taxidermist. I shot her late Sept 2018. It was my first bear, & due to the colour phase decided to give her a place on the wall. They are $2500 for a half mount, however the lady I used did it for $1400 to get her name out there. This was her second bear she's done.

ya know.. I just gotta ask...what's on the other side of the wall?  (ROFL!!!)

 

[Wheeler 2,468]

@Bighanded here ya go haha!

 

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Wheeler

[mrbb 103]

well seems my one orphaned cub, made thru LEGAL bear season, just showed up on my deck!

so   now he  has to get thru rest of deer season (dodging cheaters) and  then hopefully, learn to den for winter and sleep  a few months

 the state claimed to have set a new record bear kill in PA. this yr, and I sure know My area took a BIg hit on bears, I normally loose 2-3 bears a  yr and this yr lost 12 I am positive of!

 which is a HUGE difference than the past 20+ yrs here average of again 2-3!

 doubling the amount of bear hunting, sure  got the numbers down IMO

 I hope they don;t go too far in the reduction of them, a shame to see a state that worked so hard to have the bears we do /did

 to go the other way!
bear success was one of the game depts, best things they did and received a ton of awards and advanced the know how about black bears several times over due to how in involved this state got in learning about them

 only time will tell I guess!

[riverc 1,095]

55 minutes ago, mrbb said:

well seems my one orphaned cub, made thru LEGAL bear season, just showed up on my deck!

so   now he  has to get thru rest of deer season (dodging cheaters) and  then hopefully, learn to den for winter and sleep  a few months

 the state claimed to have set a new record bear kill in PA. this yr, and I sure know My area took a BIg hit on bears, I normally loose 2-3 bears a  yr and this yr lost 12 I am positive of!

 which is a HUGE difference than the past 20+ yrs here average of again 2-3!

 doubling the amount of bear hunting, sure  got the numbers down IMO

 I hope they don;t go too far in the reduction of them, a shame to see a state that worked so hard to have the bears we do /did

 to go the other way!
bear success was one of the game depts, best things they did and received a ton of awards and advanced the know how about black bears several times over due to how in involved this state got in learning about them

 only time will tell I guess!

 

Well that sounds good,hope it makes it through the remainder of deer season,without getting outlawed.

[jeepwm69 7,223]

I know you hate to see them almost be tame around you and then get taken during season.  Hopefully they remain very wary of other humans.

[mrbb 103]

1 hour ago, jeepwm69 said:

I know you hate to see them almost be tame around you and then get taken during season.  Hopefully they remain very wary of other humans.

bears are a LOT smarter than many folks know and they do know the difference between ME and others

 as even if I have people here many won;t show  themselves till they leave

 more than 30 yrs of me being about bears this way, adn I don;t think I have caused any of them to loose there fear of humans or become  nuisance bears, I have a close relationship with the game dept, and  small towns here, so words travel fast and no one complaining, minus a few odd occasions when there trash gets torn up, and honestly, thats on them, for living where bears are and taking simple steps in  preventing it from happening

has nothing to do with me IMO
 bears live by there noses, your over fill trash cans with lots of food and goodies that smell and well your asking to trouble

 this is and has been all my life a HIGH bear number area

 and folks here know it, and have, and most all know how to NOT have issue's

 

I am again not against hunting  and hunters getting some,  its part of things here and its again GOOD they get hunted, it makes for healthier bears ion the long run!

 

but it does  sort of sting a bit when you help hand raise one , and over so many yrs, helped it thru other health issue's

and have it about for almost a decade, when its been like a pet of sorts in a  ODD way  to me I think it was more like a friend, than a pet relation ship

 LOL
, and it ends up getting killed, and leaving behind its cubs(like kids)

that are helpless without there mom

 never easy watching small things  that are cute too, come into hardships!as they say all things come to a end,!

 just nature at work some times, and not always the nicest of things either!

 

[_Wilson_™ 6,434]

Snapped this buck a while back (September)  best pic i could get right out of my back door, 

[_Wilson_™ 6,434]

Here's a few cave pics ....  Fish the last pic, is as far as i went in...

 

 

[Fishfiles 19,716]

Wilson , that is cool  pics 1 , 2, and 3 looks like it caved in or it was blocked up to me ---that is cool , makes me think of that creepy sound " chew , chew chew , ah ,ah ,ah " , you know the Halloween  movie , LOL 

[TBRider 1,391]

Heres a few I took the other day, ducks down by the wharf and 2 partridge in a tree in the driveway, there was 3 but one flew off

Edited January 12, 2020 by TBRider

[Fishfiles 19,716]

TB , them ducks tame ??  You could get 5 limits with 3 shots !!! 

[_Wilson_™ 6,434]

13 hours ago, Fishfiles said:

Wilson , that is cool  pics 1 , 2, and 3 looks like it caved in or it was blocked up to me ---that is cool , makes me think of that creepy sound " chew , chew chew , ah ,ah ,ah " , you know the Halloween  movie , LOL 

 

Yeah... Don't remind me ... Lol, i had t look for these pics... As you can see it was damned up ... I believe my grandfather did this, because they once used this water instead of county water ... Over time The supply lines corroded, and got  broken up...if you look over to the right of the spot light beam  (1st pic) you can see a small place where it was blocked up (doesnt make sence) why this was blocked , i don't know. (2nd pic) shows a distant veiw of the !, (3rd pic) close up view of both damns . The back small one, and the main one.why someone went in and damaged the main one, i have no clue, but it will NOT happen again!! 

[Fishfiles 19,716]

I bet there are some cool polished rocks on the bottom , wonder it you could pan for gold in the silt of the bottom , eh !!!