Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!
I'm happy to say this is not a real-life sighting! However, my gardener discovered what was close enough--black bear scat--right along the upper (toward house) border of my grapes. I took a close look and now understand why it's easily identifiable. It's made up of berries, nuts, seeds, grasses--very unlike coyotes, deer, dogs, etc. We followed the trail to the collapsed wire fence where he obviously crawled over. By the damage, it looks like maybe he was only medium size. I've decided not to repair it now because he'll just go between other fence posts.
I quickly looked up basic black bear facts and feel compelled to pass them along. First I should explain that Oregon only has black bears--no other kinds. And our version is the Olympic Black Bear. Black bears can be any color from black to blonde. They're about 3 feet tall at the shoulder, can be 6 feet long, and generally weigh between 250 to 500 pounds (have been found at 900 pounds). They're good runners, swimmers and climbers (100 feet up a tree in 30 seconds). They're solitary, except mothers with cubs, and active during cooler parts of the day (but may become nocturnal to avoid humans). They live in wooded areas and usually only come into the open looking for food. They're not particularly aggressive toward humans, but of course they'll lose their inhibitions if they find a regular supply of food near homes. And, as with most animals, they're very protective of their young.
They're omnivores, with their main staple being vegetation. However, they will eat small rodents and mammals (I think Sadie qualifies) if they present themselves or vegetation is scarce. Right now they're getting ready to hibernate. Normally they consume about 5,000 calories a day. But to store fat for their winter nap, they're known to take in 20,000 calories a day. And they like grapes, so they could make a considerable dent in the harvest. Napa Valley evidently has this ongoing problem.
I'm glad I had this warning--it would be much worse to run into one unsuspecting! I know to stand tall and make my presence known with noise. But the unpredictability of wild creatures is scary. I guess I'm glad it's not lions or tigers...
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