Bear Down

When I was a kid, and Disney was just a benign producer of TV shows such as "Davy Crockett," we all sang the theme song:  

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee

Greenest state in the land of the free

Raised in the woods, so he knew ev'ry tree

Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier

We all knew what we would do if we came face to face with a "b'ar," otherwise known as the brown bear, or grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). Why, we'd kill it, with bare hands if necessary, or by boring him to death with our bravado.

We could do that, because in those days, a bear roaming around Baltimore County was as common a sight as an unindicted politician.  But things have changed, and they are everywhere now!

(Not our local bear)

The news showed a bear in video taken from a Ring camera just a hoot and a holler away from our house here in Carney. The homeowner told the station:

"After he saw there was no birdseed he went to a different tree and yanked my hummingbird feeder down from the branch. Then he just walked away. My dog never even noticed that he was there! Aside from straightening the shepherd's hook that the birdfeeder was on, he didn’t do any damage."  

And the video shows the ursine strutting around the yard, and reaching up from its hind legs to scoop out a nice treat from the bird seeder.

And also last week, folks saw bears in Hyattsville and Columbia.

What's more, DC police said that a Baltimore County bear was found roaming in Northeast DC before being given a lift back home. They were able to figure out where he lived because he was wearing a "Straight Outta Baltimore County" t-shirt and eating Berger's Cookies when apprehended.

If the bear that was stalking around Carney shows up in my driveway, let's hope he has the courtesy not to interrupt my nap by ringing the doorbell, in which case I will think he's selling siding or windows or FIOS. He can stand there until hell freezes over, like the other annoying salespeople.