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bear in my living room

6,017 Views | 50 Replies | Last: 9 mo ago by Stat Monitor Repairman
cupofjoe04
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AG
TECHNICALLY not outdoors, because it happened inside my house... but something from the outdoors came in, so it still counts, right?!?!

I was upstairs putting 2 of my kids down to bed, and my wife was downstairs in our bedroom feeding the baby (do NOT Rule #1 me... aint happening, bub). I came out of the kids room, and was heading down the stairs. My dog was a little behind me. I heard a little noise in the living room, and looked at the window beside the TV, and there was a freaking bear sticking his head in my window!

My pistol and the bear spray was down in the bedroom. So I put my dog on hip, and then sent her down to clear the room (as we have worked on 1,000 times, so glad for that training tonight!). Hearing me, the bear decided to casually back out of the window. Then he got kind of stuck, his front shoulders weren't going through, and he was beginning to panic. I was worried what might happen if the dog actually got ahold of this stupid bear, as she was coming UNGLUED at this point (good dog!!!).

As she raced down the stairs, I started yelling and looking around for something. Only thing in arms reach was a Leggo T-Rex my kid had left on the stairs. So, I chunked it, and it exploded into 100 pieces on the bear's left ear. This seemed to motivate the bear appropriately, who finally pulled free and knocked my window off track. He left a pretty good tuft of hair on the broken screen frame. Thankfully, the T-Rex arrived before the dog, who was only moments behind and almost jumped through the window chasing the bear.

All said and done, probably the best possible result from a bear invasion. Dog performed admirably, exactly as trained. I've never been so thankful for my kids leaving toys laying around... ha ha! This bear is a yearling, still with momma (who is a huge freaking sow). I have had several run-ins with them this summer, but never anything like this. Sheriff and Game Warden came by to inspect, got to have a great chat with my GW buddy about better ways to deter these problem bears, before we have to shoot them. This particular bear will get no more warnings from me if it is anywhere near my house or kids. I've already beaned it in the head with a rock about 3 weeks ago in my back yard.




this was the other 1/2 of the sliding window, where he was smelling before moving to the other side to break in next to the couch. These claw marks are about the width of your hand, just a little guy!
Swarely
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Crazy story. Glad y'all are okay. Where do you live?
spadilly
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DifferenceMaker Ag
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Maybe that bear was just poking his head in to let you know that you might be dangerously close to overloading that wall socket.

But seriously, that some pretty scary stuff. Hope the animal control officers can capture and relocate them. Seems to me that when a bear, even a cub, does something like this, fish and game should put that at the very top of their priority list.
redsquirrelAG
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AG
Now that's a bear story!!
TwoMarksHand
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OasisMan
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DifferenceMaker Ag said:

But seriously, rule #1

Agreed, and snap a pic of the bear too
Some Junkie Cosmonaut
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makes for a cool story!

what kind of dog?
Lungblood
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Great story. Glad yall are good.
Kenneth_2003
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Quote:

Maybe that bear was just poking his head in to let you know that you might be dangerously close to overloading that wall socket.
I'm guessing that's TV, cable/Sat box, DVD and or BluRay, and something else... TV is probably the biggest draw on the circuit, but everything else is likely small or not on at the same time?

Oh and any pics of the bears?

Oh, one more thing... Reagarding the T-Rex... If you can't find all of the parts (impending child melt-down), call Lego, tell them your story and they'll mail you whatever you need probably along with some more swag. Their customer service growing up was crazy good!
JAG03
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chiken
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cupofjoe04 said:


My pistol and the bear spray was down in the bedroom. So I put my dog on hip, and then sent her down to clear the room (as we have worked on 1,000 times, so glad for that training tonight!). Hearing me, the bear decided to casually back out of the window. Then he got kind of stuck, his front shoulders weren't going through, and he was beginning to panic. I was worried what might happen if the dog actually got ahold of this stupid bear, as she was coming UNGLUED at this point (good dog!!!).

Tell me more about what your dog is expected to do for you.

When you say "clear the room" do you mean she's supposed to herd the family upstairs or remove intruders?

Have you trained her to attack or just to stabilize intruders in one spot?

AND POST A PICTURE OF HER!!!!!!
powerbelly
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I want more info on the dog
samsal75
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Glad no one was hurt or real damage done.
Let us know when Goldilocks shows up!
45-70Ag
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Kenneth_2003
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samsal75 said:

Glad no one was hurt or real damage done.
Let us know when Goldilocks shows up!


RULE 6, I think it is... states you can't waive RULE 1 on this one!
ursusguy
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Glad it worked out alright.

Couple quick thought---
*Dogs and bears don't like each other. On a young bear, this is a good plan. With an older bear this could go badly.....this is slightly breed dependent.
*Are there multiple incidents like this in the area?.....first time in area, y'all may be good. If even #2, after a successful #1 getting food, there may be an issue.
*Some folks don't like it, but I do like bear spray as a deterrent. I never had to deal with a bear twice that I sprayed.

Now the biologist side of me. Relocation of bears is borderline pointless. They are heading home within 24 hours of release. Plus, in this case it sounds like their are multiple bears involved. Bears are a combo of lazy and too smart for their own good, if they find an easy way to get food, they will effectively start teaching each other their new found trick. If deterrents don't work after 3 attempts (it usually takes about threes times and usually at leat 2 with physical contact...ie wacking them in the head with a rock), I say put them down.......keep in mind, this is the bear biologist in me, I do not know the current regs in your state (believe Colorado), so stay legal.
DatTallArchitect
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I thought Goldilocks was a kid?
Kenneth_2003
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If so, disregard...
BradMtn346
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I don't know how things are down your way, but I'm seeing a distinct lack of bear food in the woods this year. I'm betting we hear a lot more stories like this out of Colorado this year.
cupofjoe04
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Great info here, appreciate the thoughts. Everything you said is pretty much in line with what the Game Warden told me.

We live in a neighborhood that directly bordered national forest, so our wildlife population is mich higher than many places. Bears frequent our streets, most just cruise through. GW said When one finds a trash can to eat from, he is a problem for a week. When he finds another source of food on 2nd visit, he is a problem for a month. On 3rd encounter he is a problem bear. This is why the local DOW strictly encforce trash and litter laws.

We have lots of homes on our block that are vacation rentals, so the tourists don't know what to do and create problems (home owners are held responsible for educating their guests). This year, we had a late hard freeze that has seemed to create a shortage of food, and there are LOTS more bear encounters than usual. Several have been killed this year already.

We do prefer bear spray as well. GW told me if I see this pair (a mom who and cub whom we all know from last summer) to spray them if they are on my property. They need to learn before something mkre drastic happens.

99% of our bears are no problem. We currently have 3 that seem to be habituated to my neighborhood. They are like big raccoons more than anything.

The dog is a lab. Not the best guard dog breed, but mine knows her role and does her job well. She is the best primary deterrent we have.

Gonna go on a hike now, will answer other posts later
Oogway
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I am so glad you & your family are okay!

Legos for the win!

Do people in bear country ever put shutters on their windows? Like as a deterrent? (Serious question, I understand that bears are determined & strong)

Hope you are able to discourage the bears from trying to take up residence in your living room.
ursusguy
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Cool.

The way he described problem development is spot on.

Not going to lie, Texas based tourists are terrible about creating nuisance bear issues.
ursusguy
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Bradmtn346, what were the food conditions like right around spring emergence? If early spring conditions were good, it's usually a good year for nuisance bear issues. If not, they are effectively hungry all the time and playing catchup. Interestingly enough, the strongest statistical correlation to nuisance bear issues is the snowfall accumulation in the preceding winter.
ravingfans
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Priceless story. You should sell that screen with the bear claw pattern on ebay--will be surprised what somebody will pay for it, especially with your story there with it!

Q: did the bear pick the window lock somehow? Guess you folks sleep with windows open and screens up to keep the bears out?
Canyon99
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Awesome story. Glad it turned out well.

Have your wife clean your house.
SteveBott
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This thread is Outdoors worthy
ursusguy
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Deterrents---strong, spiked, or my personal favorite, electricity.

I am a fan of security laminate on windows, otherwise windows are nothing to a bear. With the laminate, they may break the window, but they have to work at it longer to get in. Some type of doorjamb armor is helpful too.

Around door, and below windows, there are bear "unwelcome" mats. Basically spiked mats, and heaven help you if you forget to remove it before walking out. To that end, they also make an electric welcome mat that you can turn on before going to sleep.

Bears do not like getting zapped. Rigged electric fences are useful on bears. I've had to install bear fences on several cabins. After getting popped 2-3 times, they start avoiding the fence whether it is on or off.

Bear shutters are an interesting issue. Most are only used if you aren't actually occupying the building. What will effectively keep a bear out, could also effectively keep you in....either way, they need to be flush with the windowframe......up around Glacier you see some really cool old anti-bear shutters and doors. They have nails every few inches sticking out. But those are usually only in place when shut down for the off-season.
Oogway
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Wow, so there really is such a thing as the shutters? Your explanation about when and what to use makes a lot of sense.
C4D
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You should harbor the bear and not deport it back to the woods.
Sean98
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If you'd turn that TV around he could see if from outside and wouldn't need to open the window in order to adjust it himself.
CashinOut
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Hmm..so even bears are afraid of stepping on Legos
ThunderCougarFalconBird
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So speaking of bears not liking electricity, would a bear taser work? Does someone manufacture that sort of device?
cupofjoe04
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When we moved here, we were told that everyone sleeps with their windows open at night, because hardly anyone has AC. This cools the house at night, and then you close it up during the day.

HOWEVER- this was not a window that stays open overnight. We had the front and back widows open for a cross breeze, and had been sitting in the room 15 mins prior eating cookies with the kiddos. Simply stepped out of the room to put the kids down.

This is highly irregular, apparently. Everyone is saying the problem bears are exponentially worse this year, because there just isn't enough groceries in the woods this year.
cupofjoe04
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I would love to know more about the correlation between snowfall and bear behavior. Makes perfect sense!
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