My dogs scared this bear up a tree and the puppy ran though the fence and down two blocks to get away. It's a cub but a VERY large cub. It went up about 30 feet up the tree and was hanging on for dear life. Was quite scary as Sasha was no where to be found until a nice man pulled up in the driveway and said his wife found her two blocks away and she walked her back.  After it got down from the tree and left the area I went down with the first thing I could get my hands on, a 1911 .45acp to go look for the puppy. Not sure if that would have been enough for protection, probably should have taking the revolver with .357 magnum.

 

Here is a second view, and then a crop of the first:

 

You hate nature?

No problem with nature, just don't like bears in my back yard when my dogs are out there - I like my dogs MORE than I like bears

Know how you feel.  My dog can smell them before I can see them.  Have to keep her in the fenced-in area of the yard all the time anymore.   They are worse this year than ever.  Used to have a dozen or so sightings a year. This year at least once a week, and not the same bear.  Some helpful encourgement to keep them on the move and waiting for hunting season.  I figure this may be the year for that new rug.  Never thought I would hunt bear in NJ.

where was mama bear

I think the mama was deeper in the woods as a little while later a woman drove by and said she saw two bears cross the road about 1/2 mile from the woods behind our house.

I live in Oak Ridge, "Bear Country" 

 

Just remember they were here first.

 

I'm sure there's a nice town house for sale in Teaneck if you get tired of them.

 

But seriously ....Just cope and be careful.

You are in their territory. If you don't like them you never should have moved there. Move To a city. No bears by me

I have LOTS of bears around me in Bloomingdale. I just wish I could tag them with a bean bag round to make them go else where. I have to put amonina in all my garbage cans to keep them out. They have destroyed my garbage enclosures. They are very brazen. You have to put your garbage at some point curbside and go to work. I swear the bastards wait for me to pull out of my driveway now.

 

Look, after living in Alaska for two years with problematic Brown / Kodiak Bears....Blacks are just annoying little yap dogs to me.

After seeing the way you shot at the USPSA you should have grabbed the shot gun...

 

Sorry buddy I had too...

Most garbage enclosures I have seen were a waste of time and money. A couple years ago there was a large dumpster under the Granite chair lift at Mountain Creek that was peeled open like an aluminum can. The claws went right through the steel and tore it apart. Opening was big enough for a cub to get in but not the monster that destroyed it. Their strength is amazing. Never would have believed it if I didnt see it.

Oooh, that was cruel Louu!    The bear would have been no problem, unless he shouted "STANDBY" and then had a loud thing that went "BEEP"  !!!

 

As for this being bear area, well not really - we never had them here 25 years ago.  Its only because of development in other areas that they have migrated this way.

Not here when I moved here in 1982.  Locals said they don't see bears.  They we had that drought back in the mid a 80's and that allowed them to  migrate across the Delaware to feed on the shrubs on the Jersey side. They have been here ever since getting larger in numbers.

 

You are in their territory. If you don't like them you never should have moved there. Move To a city. No bears by me

 

Becareful they're getting closer every day.  The critters are reclaiming NJ.

The drought story is more credible than development.

 

Most of the recent development has been farm land and less food means less bears.

I never saw a bear in my life until 15 or so years ago and I rode bike, motorcycles and hiked all throughout hamburg mountain and the surrounding woods...first one I saw was when I lived off red lodge in GG village. I see bears DAILY in franklin and I live 100 feet from rt 23 in the town. There have not really been that many developments built around in the past 20 years. People who say that simply don't know the area. 95% of the condo's were already built and really other than Crystal springs(which was built in farmland almost 100%) no large scale developments have been done.

I have bear cans, I don't hunt...don't care to hunt, but they sure must have exploded in population. World record Black was taken at the end of my street...stood for 2 days a few years ago till they got a bigger one in Jefferson by the high school  

I want someone to explain to me how a 10 year old bear "was here first" meaning before any of us on this forum.

Cute Knucklehead!  Bears in general!!!   I have game trails right through my yard that LONG predated my house being built.

 

But don't loose sight of the fact that they have no natural predators, and they weren't hunted for how many years?

 

When I was a kid and Noah was loading the Ark  (around 1972) there were a total of IIRC either 80 or 300 bears in the state.

Djg0770- a 10year old bear has not been here before any of us but the species of black bear has been in NJ before any human there for they have more of a claim to the land than humans do. Pretty simple. Don't like shareing your property? Put up a bear resistant fence or move to the city. I for one enjoy every encounter I have with bears even if they are ripping through my garbage. Hell I enjoy every encounter with every wild animal that's part of the reason I do what I do for a livening

njgf bear hunt : who's in.

They were not around 25 years ago where I live, maybe in Sussex but not in my neck of the woods.  And in my area of Morris County there has been a huge amount of development in the last 10 to 20 years.  I think we may be getting them because of the huge amount of area of woodlands we have maintained so as new areas are developed they find our undeveloped parkland and make it their new home.

Have shotgun and license. will travel!   lol

njgf bear hunt : who's in.

Me. Lottery for permits start 9/15. Zone 2 first, Zone 1 second. Only so I can start the hunt in my backyard

e species of black bear has been in NJ before any human there for they have more of a claim to the land than humans do.

Please provide proof of this statement. Ie fossil record, etc.

 

While I agree that the northeast long ago was the black bears habitat, it was also the habitat of several Native American tribes. I'll be glad to pay the bears for their land as we paid the Indians.

 

Next you'll tell me that This was also the habitat of native (ie non migratory) Canadian Geese.

For the most part, bears will not hurt you.  Black Bears in Brown Bear Country are more aggressive, and in Michigan area.  There are more docile on the two coasts. Here, you really only have to worry about them with their young, or if your dog attacks them.  Sometimes if a dog goes after a bear, the bear picks the bigger threat and will attack the human.   But, if you ever are attacked, with a black bear you fight back.   I would imagine that you would be in a lot of trouble if you shot a bear with your gun, though.  Remember, in NJ, bears have more rights than gun owners.  And, you are in bear country.  The main thing is that you don't leave any snacks outside for them.  Bird Feeders are a no no, and of course regular garbage has to be secured.  Bear-resistant containers are great, and also, sprinkling some ammonia on your garbage cans when you have food in them helps a little. 

 

The closest encounters I had was when I was mountain biking in the late 90s.  I went around a turn in the trail and basically almost ran into a bear that was on the trail.  I was less than 2 feet from the bear.  I jumped off my bike and put it between me and the bear.  It just ran off.  The other close encounter was when I was in a tent and a bear was right outside sniffing my tent on the AT in Virginia.  I was a glad that I really didn't have food in the tent that night.  But, there are many others.  Another time, the whole family and I were going out after dinner to go out to the store and there was a bear about 15 feet away sampling my garbage that was put out for the next morning's pickup by the curb.  We got into the van and drove off.  There have been other examples.  I was out walking with my two dogs off leash and a bear that was about 100 feet away, stomped with its paw, snorted and made a dash toward me and the dogs and then veered off to the side when it was about 20 feet from me.  I imagine that if the dogs didn't behave, or if I had run, it would have been a different result.  Still, in another example, I was walking on a trail up by Crater Lake, NJ, and these branches started falling onto the trail in front of me.  There was a bear up in the tree.  Another time I was out hiking with my dog and a bear and its two cubs ambled by near the local stawberry fields.  I was glad my lab was on a leash and behaving herelf.  And, there are even other times.  Once, I was up at the lookout on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap and a bear was between me and the top of the hill where the trail was.  I was essentially trapped on the cliff with my two dogs.  I waited patiently for the rather large bear to leave and it did about 15 minutes later.  I am sure it was there because idiots bring food up there and eat it at the lookout point and drop stuff.  I have run into bears up at Stokes a couple of times and I saw one while visiting the hidden falls near Buttermilk Falls in the same area.   Another time a bear was walking near me at Tillman's Ravine.  And, I have had them in my yard a number of times.  One time I couldn't get the bear to leave when I was banging a pot.  It was snacking on baby diapers, which seem to attract them.  Another time I was camping out in the Delaware Region at Campsite 2? near Sunfish Pond.  A bear came into the campsite at night and the attending ranger that was camping there used mace, etc.  It finally left.

 

The only time I was really concerned was when I was up at the lookout with the two dogs.  I imagine that if I ever was vacationing and came in contact with a Brown Bear it would be quite an experience. 

 

I am actually more concerned with the mountain lions which I know we share our neighborhoods with, and we live in a state that cannot have a very large population, and any encounter with a human is rare. 

Actually Underdog, my wife called the police when we thought the dog had been attacked. I had a long conversation with the officer and he saw no issue with having the gun in case the bear charged me and had no issue had I shot it. He told me his father recently fired a revolver at a bear in his back yard under similar circumstances. I would never shoot it just to shoot it, but if it went after a person or my dog it would have gotten lead poisoning.

Djg0770- considering the oldest fossils ever found of Ursus Americanus were found in Port Kennedy PA I think its safe to assume that they were living in NJ as well, Fossil evidence suggests that the species is about 4.08 million years old. 

 

P.S. Canada geese are not a native species. They were conditioned to not migrate, during the 50's I believe. Breeders with their wings cropped were released to promote hunting by the dept of fish and game. Or at least that's what I was told.
 

You are in their territory. If you don't like them you never should have moved there. Move To a city. No bears by me

I'm in the heart of bear country myself, (Sussex county) as much as I dislike having them in my yard daily I can assure you they are better to deal with than bloods and crips any day!

 

Actually Underdog, my wife called the police when we thought the dog had been attacked. I had a long conversation with the officer and he saw no issue with having the gun in case the bear charged me and had no issue had I shot it. He told me his father recently fired a revolver at a bear in his back yard under similar circumstances. I would never shoot it just to shoot it, but if it went after a person or my dog it would have gotten lead poisoning.

Howard- I had a very similar conversation with a park ranger back in the late 80's (when I lived in Sussex County), they basically told us that we should always have a firearm with us when camping or walking in the woods.  They made it clear that while they would not condone shooting for no reason they felt we should have a firearm not only for bear but for packs of wild dogs.

They were not around 25 years ago where I live, maybe in Sussex but not in my neck of the woods. And in my area of Morris County there has been a huge amount of development in the last 10 to 20 years. I think we may be getting them because of the huge amount of area of woodlands we have maintained so as new areas are developed they find our undeveloped parkland and make it their new home.

Here are my trail cam pics from last fall in Randolph, where I hunt off of South Road near the Jewish Cemetery. There are some serious bear in Morris county too!

 

At home I keep a paintball marker near the sliding glass door loaded with pepper balls. It works well, neighbors don't hear gun shots from rubber buckshot or bean bags and it doesn't permanently harm the bear. But when they see me come outside now they run because they know what happens if they hang out.