Black Bears

[denjac]

The rabbits nibble on my exotic plants. I say let's get rid of them.

Squirrels collecting acorns on my roof drive me nuts. Let's get rid of them, too.

A family of opossums live under my front porch. I hate that. Let's kill all the opossums.

A pesky raccoon tries to get into my trash on occasion. I could do without that. We should kill them all.

My neighbor's cat leaves pawprints on the hood of my truck. Someone should shoot him.

My other neighbor's dog never shuts up. Think I'll take care of him myself.

Skunks stink when we run over them. We should work on eradicating skunks.

Some snakes are venomous. No need for them.

A deer almost killed my wife on her way to work once. Why not wipe them out?

Birds poop on everything. Let's eliminate birds.

I hate getting stung by bees. Let's wipe out the bees.

I'm sick of dried up worms on my driveway after it rains. Any way to get rid of all the worms?

Oaks and maples clog up my gutters. Let's cut them all down.

Poison ivy itches. We should spray the forests.

People fall off bluffs hiking sometimes. We should put fences up there, or level the mountains...too dangerous.

People drown in lakes and rivers. We should drain them.

His post no way suggested in killing them. Just making a point that they can be pests just as the above critters you mentioned.

[eric1978]

His post no way suggested in killing them.

Well they're protected by state law, but I'll go out on a limb and assume he wishes they weren't. Maybe I'm wrong. They do make nice rugs for in front of the fireplace.

[Mark]

I can't waot until I can go out and kill me one!!

[laker67]

I can't waot until I can go out and kill me one!!

I have had many a bear encounter at night while fishing taney. They have roamed the bank behind me unaware of my presence in the creek. They are masters at hiding because every time I would shine the light, they would already be hidden. Once I thought I had encountered big foot, but it turned out to be Leonard.

[flytyer57]

Just like the otters. They are so cute and furry and clean all of the fish out of the streams.

I am so glad they are back. I sure hope we traded some rattlesnakes for them.......

Don't you fret none about them bears.

It's them "Razorbacks" ya gotta watch out for.

[flytyer57]

The rabbits nibble on my exotic plants. I say let's get rid of them.

Squirrels collecting acorns on my roof drive me nuts. Let's get rid of them, too.

A family of opossums live under my front porch. I hate that. Let's kill all the opossums.

A pesky raccoon tries to get into my trash on occasion. I could do without that. We should kill them all.

My neighbor's cat leaves pawprints on the hood of my truck. Someone should shoot him.

My other neighbor's dog never shuts up. Think I'll take care of him myself.

Skunks stink when we run over them. We should work on eradicating skunks.

Some snakes are venomous. No need for them.

A deer almost killed my wife on her way to work once. Why not wipe them out?

Birds poop on everything. Let's eliminate birds.

I hate getting stung by bees. Let's wipe out the bees.

I'm sick of dried up worms on my driveway after it rains. Any way to get rid of all the worms?

Oaks and maples clog up my gutters. Let's cut them all down.

Poison ivy itches. We should spray the forests.

People fall off bluffs hiking sometimes. We should put fences up there, or level the mountains...too dangerous.

People drown in lakes and rivers. We should drain them.

Let's nuke the whole planet and be done with it once and for all.

[troutfiend1985]

I haven't had a personal encounter with a bear in Missouri, but I've seen tracks on one of those hush hush trout streams. A little creepy. I was in the Rockies in New Mexico and a black bear was beating the hell out of the dumpster at the hotel. Couldn't sleep through that at 3 am.

I'm also going to Yellowstone this summer, more worried about the Grizzlies up there, but the fact that people feed the black bears make them aggressive as well.

I'm personally excited that a native animal is making a comeback. As to whether these bears will wipe out fish, I think we can keep our worries more on: Poachers, invasive species and otters. Poachers and invasive species are more of my worries, what can you do about otters? I guess trap and hunt them.

I liked the post about how we should wipe out all of the species because of the inconvenience those species cause to humans. I thought it was a clever remark on America's thought process to wildlife.

I think I will probably be dead before there are actually enough bears in MO to hunt.

[flytyer57]

I have had many a bear encounter at night while fishing taney. They have roamed the bank behind me unaware of my presence in the creek. They are masters at hiding because every time I would shine the light, they would already be hidden. Once I thought I had encountered big foot, but it turned out to be Leonard.

Several years ago, while fishing from the bank at Pigeon Creek on Lake Norfork, something was spalshing out in the lake. I shined a spotlight on the subject and it was a black bear swimming across the lake. Of course when I shined the light on it, it submerged, and came up about 50 yards or so from me and went into the woods.

[KCRIVERRAT]

Few years back a buddy of mine and me hiked the trail down to Greer Spring on the Eleven Point. We actually spooked a black bear out of a tree but couldn't see him very well once it hit the ground. They're scared by themselves... wouldn't care to encounter a mamma and her cubs though!

[jdmidwest]

Well they're protected by state law, but I'll go out on a limb and assume he wishes they weren't. Maybe I'm wrong. They do make nice rugs for in front of the fireplace.

Once again, the ASSume thing, you are swinging on a limb. "IF you read the article", it was CLEARLY the yearly post from MDC stating to be "BEAR AWARE" when you are outdoors as they are dangerous creatures to be dealt with accordingly. Not some novelty to put out feed for and attract them to humans and livestock. Leave them alone and let them be wild. For those of us that venture into the outdoors and not spend our lives waiting to pounce on posters of internet forums, it is something we need to be aware of and take the necessary measures if we encounter them.

As with any nuisance animal, humans tend to deal with them in one way or another, eliminate them or move them. If they get accustomed to humans and livestock, they will be dealt with by the MDC, as noted in the final paragraph. If the population increases, there will be a season on them just like in Arkansas.

Elk were once native to MO, as were buffalo and mountain lions. Elk were voted against reintroduction. I think the bears migrated here from Arkansas over the years. There were sightings going back into the late 70's around Lake Wappappello and I have seen bear sign in the 11 pt Greer area in the late 80's in the fall. We had at least one pass thru our farm in the mid 90's, I saw his tracks along one of our fields. One was killed a few years ago near the waterslide in Jackson by a car and one was treed for a while the next year near Advance.