I haven't seen any bears up here in years in the populated areas. For the past few weeks drivers in my area have been "plagued" by moose.

Please refresh my memory Adirondack gardener as to where you are ?
A moose is the next beast I would love to get a photoshot of in my yard.There was one in the area last year until a car got it.

Kareen, I'm north of Lake Placid/Saranac Lake, near Franklin Falls. I never saw an eastern moose, but I know they're out there from reports of track sightings to the 3 recent moose/car accidents nearby, two just a few miles from here.

They stay pretty much away from human habitation if they can.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne,
You are way up there in God's country. Hope the winter treats you well. Kareen

Kareen,
I don't think we have any bears here in Niagara county but you never know. all I see here are deer, coyote, red fox, bunnies skunks, possums, ground hogs and racoons and I live just a few yards from a very busy boulevard. I think seeing a bear here would stop traffic all over town.

Penny

I have not seen any bear recently although I am told that they are still all over our area (Palenville, NY). My neighbor did see a coyote in their front lawn a few weeks ago.

I don't put any bird seed outside which I think has kept the bear from hanging out on our property. We have seen one bear that seems to cross our property to get to the farm on the other side of the road. Our contractor has seen the same bear a lot.

Jennifer

There was one seen by my neighbor on the other side of the road from me last Thursday or Friday. It destroyed the bird feeder in their yard.
They seem to expect these things, but I'm still a Brooklyn gal, dislocated as I may be!
I have a bunch of photos of the coyote dancing in the field behind me. It lives by the creek behind the hay field. Makes me a tad worried for the 4 legged ones I live with!
I'm just in the middle between Binghamton and Whitney Point.

I just saw a scratched up tree trunk with ripped off bark and claw marks on my road. I don't know if it's our bear, but those claw marks were very wide. I live in West Hurley by the Ashokan Reservoir (east of Kingston).

Does any other animal do this?

Not putting out the birdseed yet!

Thanks for all the responses ..from the sounds of it the bear haven't settled in their dens yet !!!!!!!

Susanzone5: A few years ago I went for a hike in the Windsor NY are. It was Christmas week. There was spotty areas of snow on the ground. The air was bite your cheeks cold but the sun felt warm. I was walking and stopping every now and then. I stopped at the base of the mountain to look around. Just as I stopped a medium size bear ran up the hill into some spruce trees. She ran from a blow down not 15 yards from where I stopped. As I looked around I saw movement from the other side of the tree.8 short black legs turned into two small cubs. I watched them for several minute. The mother didn't go far. I walked out around where they were. I walked an old snow covered logging road just above where mom ran.She never crossed the road.Again this was Christmas week.Bears in this area do not always den up at a set time. Males will wonder on warm or sunny winter days looking for food.I don't believe a mother bear would den next to a blow down that offers sparse cover.Males will den in any spot that looks comfy.It looks like your bird feeder might not be safe except for the dead of winter.

We just had a bear in our yard a couple weeks ago. We are NOT in a rural area. Rather, the bear had to trek down through the suburbs and across a couple major roads and a RR track to end up in our back yard. Surprised us, that's for sure. I posted it on here under the thread "I tawt I taw. . . ."

Laurel

Wow , I was surprised to see this post come back to life from '05. Thanks for the recent responses. I have seen no bear in the hood this year but I believe I saw a red fox and its pup walking up our creek bed. Unfortunately I was unable to get a photo. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. Kareen

last night a 2-3 yera old black bear came up on my back porch. i had apples on the lawn for the deer but he was more intrested in the bird seed in a small trach can i keep on the porch. this was t 8:00 pm on thurs. evening 4/14/11. he came on and off the porch many times because my dog would go to the door. after the forth time , he stayed and ate from what he had emptyed from the can for a good 10 minutes. long enough for me to take video. very exciting yet apprehensive at this point. he will most likely come back tonight to see if he can eat again.

Where are you located Thyra? I would love to see the video

Penny

Several reports on the local news this week of bears raiding bird feeders, etc. They said people are asked to remove feeders and other pet food from outside areas.

Penny

Palenville, NY..... Sightings here in Palenville are on a daily basis! Early evening and between 7 am-8:30 am. One very large male, one average sized female, and what looks to be a yearling! Don't bother anything just search the front yard for insects, and left over bird seed from the day before. What a sight to see! A magnificent animal to say the least.