Becoming common occurrence in Pgh.Pa.

Bears love bird feeders and garbage cans. This helps make suburban sightings more common in addition to increasing numbers. Used to be no one ever talked about bear sightings in this area because they were extremely rare. Now a sighting barely raises an eyebrow so yea, as has been mentioned they have adapted and reproduced well.
As far as the person who hit the bear I don't think we can fault them without knowing the circumstances. Our tight roads with low distance visibility due to curves, hills, and vegetation, sometimes collisions can't be avoided. Only real defenses is going slow and paying 100% attention. Every time I drive I feel likes its a video game to see if I can complete my mission without hitting a deer......and that's not an exaggeration. The number of hunters is on decline. This will aid populations of deer and bear to increase even more and hence an increase in collisions with cars. Deer collisions not only wreak havoc in physical sense but it must cause insurance rates to increase. State Farm says the average cost for repair after a deer collision is $4179s. Considering a common deductible for comprehensive is $100 they are paying out a lot of money considering the number of collisions just in PA.

 

In our part of Naples, Black Bears are common. We actually have trash collection twice per week to enable us to keep waste food out of the trash containers until the collection days. If you put anything that smells as if it is food (an empty dog food bag for example) in the container, there will be a bear in the container that night.

 

Yeah well try and bear with us!

 

My Buddy’s yard last night

 

And they followed

 

These guys been hitting the cans. I told him to get some Jelly Donutz

 

Tim i’ve heard that a lot. there’s a game lands down near a Uniontown. That’s were they dump them.

 

Garbage Cans.

 

They took the Garbage can. Never to return. lol

 

I set out a whole Bag of Jelly Beans.

 

All different friends All different houses. They are moving back in. And will live among us. But will lose the car hit battle

 

Ronald Reagan LOVED jellybeans. Me too! Bears are cool!

 

Ronald Reagan Best President.

 

JZRIV is right. I read several articles over the last couple weeks about the decline in hunters and an even greater reduction in mentors. Many would be hunters (male and female alike) cannot find someone to guide them. My father never hunted nor did our family own guns growing up, it was just a money thing.... I love target shooting now and have made up lost time by buying and mastering several types of weapons but would fail at field dressing .....:/

 

You and Jason hit the Bullseye. Well said. 100% true true.

 

I have 4 daughters 1 son and 1 grandson. And he’s all Boy. But we will see. I will spend Quality time with him. Hope he wants to hunt. 2 Daughters hunt with me. Time in the woods and the experience. is very self gratifying. When i was a boy. i was never home until dark. Always in the woods. It’s just reminds me of what Men had to do back in the day. I enjoy it. And if Guys don’t Hunt. I get it. understand fully. I think if boys hunted today. when they turn 12. That there would be less shootings at schools. I can’t make sense of it. But just think it would make a difference. I ve been around guns my whole life. But really don’t bother with them much. except for sighting in. And hunting

b

 

Well said Steve and I completely agree. My 12 yr old can strip, clean and reassemble several guns and is very responsible when handling them. He understands their capabilities although probably not fully because of his age and maturity. So we never make any assumptions. I remember as a kid riding the school bus and the kids that were in the shooting club at school bringing there rifles with them on the bus (imagine the meltdown that would occur today) 22's were what the club used - and of course any gun is deadly. Nobody had trigger locks and nobody shot anyone either.

 

If only he'd been wearing his helmet like this furry fellow...