BEAR FARE: In spite of a few chilly mornings, we know summer is
near because the seasonal invasion has begun – that is, the
sightings of bear, bees, and, yes, coyote.
Marlene Eaton writes: “Just want you to know that the bears are
alive and well in Eldred Township. On May 15, early in the morning,
I opened the door to feed my cat, and there were two bears, about
1 year old. Their fur and eyes were beautiful. I said ‘What are you
doing here?’ Away they ran.
“On Monday, there was a car stopped on the bridge on Duffytown
Road. I went around it and then went to Wimpy’s Gas Station. The
guy also came a few minutes later and said, ‘Did you see the bear?’
I said, ‘No.’ He said that a bear about 300 pounds got into Fox’s
Pizza Den’s Place Dumpster and took out garbage and went up the
hill into the woods.
“This morning I noticed my bird feeder was down. I had placed
it high in the pine tree. I used a big ladder to fill it when it
needed to be filled. I figured I had it up high enough. Well, the
limb was broken in two places. This limb was 5 inches or more in
diameter.
“I knew animals can remember and have feelings. They are also
very smart at times. especially when they want food. I also noticed
this morning that there was more garbage strewn up the hill by
Fox’s Pizza Den’s Place. It looks like they’ll have to put a lock
on the Dumpster.”
BEE FEEDER: As if bears with a taste for pizza weren’t enough,
another reader called to tell us about some honeybees who had found
a new place to “hang out.”
A Rixford resident said the honeybees in her backyard were
swarming on her hummingbird and oriole feeder.
“They’ve never done this before,” she said, describing them as
forming one big clump on the feeder.
“I saw a hummingbird go into the feeder in spite of the bees
clinging to it.”
The reader said they were also doing the same thing on the
feeder in her sister’s backyard.
“I’ve put up with bears and raccoons – now it’s honeybees!”
COYOTE WATCH: Allison Caswell of Derrick Road called on May 21
to warn pet owners in the area that she saw two coyotes chasing
deer through Scott Field in Derrick City at 4:15 p.m. on that
date.
