Black Bear – First Encounter

The first black bear I saw up close and personal nearly invited himself into our living room in 2014. The only thing that spooked the big boy from stepping over the threshold was the smack of the door against a stereo speaker when he’d opened it.

A suggestion for new arrivals to the mountains: If you have lever handles on your outside doors, replace them with knobs.

Here’s what happened.

I was busy writing in my study while David was down the hill about two hundred yards dealing with the needs of our seventy-five-year-old neighbor, a weathered and endearing lesbian who had found another chore for us to do. I didn’t know David had gone down there when I heard a loud pop in the living room. I stood, opened my study door, and saw that the living room door was open. I called for David as I walked to the open door. He, of course, hadn’t answered by the time I stood in the open doorway staring at a black bear staring back at me. I thought that was interesting. It was interesting enough for me to run back into my study and grab my camera to document the event for posterity. And I did.

I’ve had several up-close encounters with black bears since then. I’ll caution, though; I’ve never encountered a sow with babies. Always lone bears, either male or female, youngsters and adults. They’ve always responded to me as I’ve responded to them. We look at each other momentarily, and I pull my gaze away intentionally. Eye-to-eye confrontation is generally perceived as aggression in most species. I know that, and the bear appears to understand that, too. I stop in my tracks, slowly turn around, and walk in the opposite direction. By this time, in every case, the bear had quickly lost interest in me and gotten back to whatever it was doing before our eyes met. When I think it’s safe to turn around and get another look at the bear, I do. I look back and see it is ignoring me and continuing to do what caught its interest before we exchanged glances.

In every case, every encounter, that’s what happened. Well, except for that first time when the big boy opened our back door.

When I returned with my camera, I took one shot, and the big boy scampered away. I quickly walked to the front of our house and took more pictures of him pawing at a stump, probably looking for grubs, and then a couple more shots as he made his way down the hillside.

I don’t assume everyone’s experience with bears is the same as mine. I’m not frightened by them, though I probably ought to be. Even if I was, though, I think my behavior would be the same. Don’t panic. Move slowly. And just walk away in the opposite direction, smiling, enriched beyond belief at what you’ve just experienced.