Normal Rockstar

Suicidal Bear Reconsiders; Saved by Authorities

Sorry I've not been around the last couple of days. I've been in six states in six days with my band and it's been a busy time. We arrive home this afternoon though for almost two weeks, so that will be nice! This week's bear story comes to us from Donner Summit, CA - Rainbow Bridge, specifically - courtesy of Bill Robinson. It seems that this particular bear was walking across the bridge when he was startled by two cars also crossing and jumped over the edge.

Somehow he was able to catch himself on the ledge and pulled himself to safety.

When authorities arrived they decided that there was nothing they could do before the end of the day; when they returned the following morning they found the bear fast asleep on the ledge.

Once the secured a net under the bridge...

they tranquilized the bear, causing him to fall into the net...

and then lowered him to the ground...

where he walked out of the net safe and sound. Chalk another up for the California Wildlife Management Service!

Bear Raids Bird-Feeder

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It seems I have begun another series - this one having to do with bears! So, here's the next installment... These pictures were taken in Minnesota, and tell the story on their own. Just remember these pictures next time you start to curse the squirrels for emptying your bird-feeder!

Technorati Tags: bear

Grizzly Bear Prefers White Fridges

Okay, you're not going to believe this. A month ago I posted a story about a black bear that broke into my inlaws' Montana home while they were out and raided their kitchen (click here for the original story).  Well, this weekend I came across a similar story - again in Montana - involving a grizzly bear (and not my inlaws, thank goodness!).

The story goes like this: "Once upon a time, this old grizzly bear learned that white refrigerators hold tasty snacks that are neither too hot nor too cold, but just right.

And so the Albino Basin Male, or No. 191 as he's known to biologists, slaps his big muddy paws up on a window, presses his nose to the glass and checks things out. If he sees a brown fridge, or a green fridge or even a yellow fridge, he usually moves on.

But if it's white, he smashes his way in, a sort of reverse Goldilocks looking for porridge and anything else that might be stashed away in the cupboards.

During the last week in August, he broke into no fewer than nine unoccupied cabins in the Condon [Montana] area, leaving behind a huge mess and enough DNA that biologists now know exactly who he is." (Click here to read the rest of the article.)

A Montana Visitor...

What would you do if someone broke into your house, ate your food, spilled your trash, and then relieved themselves in the middle of your living room floor before leaving? Call the cops, I'm sure - as would I.

Well, this very thing happened to my inlaws a couple of weeks ago, and they called the appropriate authorities - although in this case, it was the Fish and Wildlife officer, not the local sheriff. The story goes like this: while they were out for an afternoon, they left a kitchen window open to help cool the house down. The bear (probably a 2 year-old cub they saw on their property the day before) tore through the screen on the window and climbed through.

Once inside he started by devouring a tub of Red Vine licorice from Costco, then moved on to the large container of White Chocolate coffee syrup (spilling it all over the floor). Once he finished with that, he moved on to the trash, dumping it and spreading it's aromatic contents all over the floor.

All evidence points to the fact that at this point either the syrup or the licorice started to disagree with his stomach, and he didn't make it much farther than the living room before his eating binge caught up with him... the picture tells the tale.

Thankfully, by the time they arrived home the bear had vacated the premises the same way he entered, and they haven't seen him since (although they've paid more attention to the open windows). Quite a story, to say the least!

Do you have any interesting stories of wildlife visitors?