2022 Archive – Great Amazing Bear Contest

2022 Contest Final Results

The MRV Bear Initiative sends a big thank you to all of the artists, poets, writers, and videographers that shared their favorite bear stories from 2022.  We really enjoyed reading through this year’s entries and appreciate the thought and time put into each contribution.   And now for the best part of all, sharing them with our community!  These stories help capture the realities of living in bear country;  embracing and accommodating a harmonious coexistence.  Let’s face it, MRV has the best bears in the state!  

Entries from Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield, and Warren were further eligible to enter to win one of two bear resistant trash toters.  On March 21st, 2023 the MRV Bear Committee randomly selected the following two winners!  We hope they serve you well in bringing increased bear harmony in your neighborhood!  

 

Patti – Fayston, VT 

Linda – Moretown, VT 

 

And now for this years entries:

  1. Drew, Moretown – Bad News Chicken Coop
  2. Jeffrey, Warren – Mother Black Bear and Two Cubs
  3. Gene, Fayston – Biking with Bears
  4. Kerry, Fayston – I turned the corner and…
  5. Jamie, Warren – Bear named “Dump”
  6. Patti, Fayston – 12:35 a.m. – sound asleep
  7. Kelly, Fayston – Mama trying to feed her cubs
  8. Steven, Moretown – Bear visitor 
  9. Carol, Warren – No reaction from the horses
  10. Kathy, Warren – The Adventures of Maple
  11. Linda, Moretown – The Summer of 2022 at Bear Bottom Farm

 

 

 1.  Drew, Moretown

It had been a nice couple days of vacation on Cape Cod when I got the text from a neighbor: “bad news” with a picture of my chicken coop door ripped off, “I can’t find any survivors.” A few days later, we did find one survivor a ways down the road in the ditch, but the other five chickens had become dinner for the bear. He was after their feed originally and I guess when that was done, thought some meat might taste good too. When I got home at midnight, I found what I thought was the sole surviving chicken in the coop. I screwed the door shut for the night and went to bed. When I got up at 7am, the door had been pried open and she was gone. When my neighbor later found the survivor in the ditch, I knew I had to do something. I went to Kenyon’s and bought some supplies. I got to work and within an hour or two had a nice new electric fence encircling the coop. I sprinkled some feed by the fence line and set up a game cam pointing at it. I went inside and when I came out an hour later, I figured the bear had not been back. But the game cam told another story. The bear ambled out of the woodline and walked toward the coop. He smelled the ground getting closer and closer to the fence. And then he smelled the wire until the tip of his nose grazed it. I have never seen a bear jump and run so fast! I can send the video if you want it. He did not return that summer. I did sight him one more time, a couple weeks later walking on the driveway. I waited till he was right next to the car and hit the panic button. He doesn’t come around anymore. The only other evidence he is still living happily nearby was when I was out deer hunting after the first snow this season. The second day, I noticed he had used my boot prints in the snow and followed my track- there was one bear paw print in each boot imprint- I have a pic of that too! I am so happy my tactics worked and that he can continue to live happily in the woods out back while my chickens live happily in their coop and my family continues to enjoy eggs for breakfast.

 

2.  Jeffrey, Warren

My story involves the viewing of a mother black bear and her two cubs. I saw the family of bears from my previous apartment. The bears were attracted to a bird feeder hanging from a metal feeder support visible through sliding glass doors of the ground level apartment. Only the mother could reach the feeder standing on her hind legs. The cubs stood on their hind legs and attempted to catch seeds but mostly got those that fell on the ground. They were there for 5 or so minutes then after the cubs played for bit they ambled off across the driveway into the woods.

 

3.  Gene, Fayston 

While riding my bike heading south on east warren rd, just as I was coming up over the dip, I saw a bear going in the same direction the grass on my right.he was going at about the same speed as I was about 25mph. As this continued, I didn’t know whether to stop or continue.  I was getting more and more scared he was going to come at me.  kept going, as did the bear.  Finally as we approached the east warren store, the bear darted off to the right.  I sighed deeply with relief. 

 

4.  Kerry, Fayston

As of May 2022, I’d avoided COVID and thought that I’d escaped it. Emboldened, vaccinated and boosted, I took my first trip, to England, in over two years. I returned at the end of May 2022 and, of course, got COVID. I quarantined at my house on Hobart Lane in Fayston. Symptoms were not fun, but not terrible or life-threatening either. Having survived the first few days with the virus, I thought myself on the down-side, headed toward recovery and a negative test. Little did I know that an unanticipated complication was coming.

Even as my respiratory symptoms and fatigue improved, the brain fog remained. Could not concentrate, fuzzy thoughts, attention lacking.

On a beautiful Saturday morning at the beginning of June, anxious to return to at least some degree of productivity, I exited my front door and took a left to head around the home’s north face and around the back. At least I could manage a new nozzle on the hose. Foggy headed and paying no attention to where I was going, I turned the corner and walked smack into a black bear. There were two of them, both adults, but one was right in my grill, only a couple of feet away. I jumped back, an involuntary “Oh Jesus” escaping my lips. The bear who was in my face seemed about as startled as I was, as it grunted and snorted its displeasure at our meeting. Fortunately, both of my visitors turned and headed for the woods, and I avoided being, perhaps, the first and only COVID sufferer to die as a result of bear attack. 

 

5.  Jamie, Warren

We have a bear who is after our trash all summer long. We built our own dumpster to try to keep him out . He has figured out how to get the trash out of it 4 times ! Each time we go back to the drawing board to try to make it bear proof and each time he out smarts us . We have affectionately named him “Dump” and we are apparently not smarter than the average bear. 

VIDEO:  1 Minute Bear Around Yard

 

6.  Patti, Fayston   

12:35 a.m. – sound asleep

Not a sound – not a peep

When a slightly different sound I hear

Knew in an instant something different was near

Jumped up and looked down at the deck

The sight made hair stand up on my neck

Running down stairs and over to the glass door

Treated to a sight like none other before

There stood a bear standing four feet high

If he’d stood up he’d probably reach the sky

Long shiny damp fur covered his massive bulk

Looking like a version of the incredible hulk

His long gray snout sniffing the air

Had to wonder if he knew I was there

Tapping the glass was not something he liked

And he soon wandered off into the night

But alas he’d had a taste of toppled can of bird seed

And his fear was outweighed by his desire – his need

He’d peek around the corner of the house

Despite his bulk – quiet as a mouse

Each time he would put his snout in the air

Had to wonder if he knew I was there

His paws were as big as a flattened football

And he ambled about not hurrying at all

Debating his next exploration of our land

Should I shut the chicken windows – retrieve the can

He once again peeked around to see if he could safely pass

Back to the seed he wanted much more than grass

No more than a foot apart and a pane of glass between

It was an incredible sight so rarely seen

He looked right into my eyes as if to say

Its okay you can come out to play

But there was twinkle there that I just couldn’t trust

And knew that giving up the bird seed was simply a must

As he ambled off one last time his snout in the air

It was certain he knew I was there

 

7.  Kelly, Fayston  

In the middle of a pleasant June night in 2022, I was awoken by a neighbor’s barking dog, which, in turn, encouraged our two dogs to begin barking. My husband begrudgingly got up and let our dogs out and then back in, with nothing eventful to report upon returning to bed. But, within a few minutes, the barking resumed. This time, I traveled down to the first floor in darkness and grabbed a flashlight to shine a light to our garage, where the chickens and rabbits are kept, just for reassurance. But I saw nothing. I crept through the kitchen to get a better view of our son’s coop further up our property. As I shined the light upon his coop I saw a black mass hanging out of the coop window. I couldn’t move or speak as my jaw dropped in disbelief. When it finally hit me what was happening, I banged on the window, opened it as fast as I could, and started yelling. A loud scream and squawk belted from the coop. The bear took its head out of the window with my son’s little rooster in it’s jaws and off it ran through the bushes and into the woods. With the window still open, I hear squawking and then, a sudden stop. My son’s chickens are bantams, tiny chickens if you will, so I knew that was merely a snack and that bear would certainly be back again. So I waited in darkness. Every few minutes I would shine my light upon the coop expecting to see that back mass again. Suddenly, it appeared behind the coop, peering through the bushes, its eyes glowing back at me, light bouncing off its wet snout. I sternly yell “NO”. The bear hesitated, almost wondering if I was an actual threat, and then, after a few more of my reprimands, it slowly turned and disappeared into the woods. I continued to wait and illuminate my surroundings every few minutes. I was waiting for a sound; snapping twigs, a rustle of leaves on a bush. But I heard nothing. All was quiet for a long time until I shone the light directly below the window and there it was! If the screen was off, I could’ve slapped that bear. That mass of an animal made not a sound as it sauntered up the stone walkway and below the window. We both caught each other off guard as I yelled and it ran off again. This was a persistent bear. A bear I assumed I would be able to hear and prevent further loss of chickens. But I couldn’t even detect this thing if it was right below me. So I brought out the big guns; I grabbed a pot and a ladle, and my faithful pup joined me on the second story deck. I banged the mighty kitchen utensils together while yelling, “Go away bear!” I heard sudden scrambling in the tall brush in the front of the property. I pointed my flashlight towards the brush and there I see a tiny black cub scurry up a tree. In that moment I felt some weird relief. I didn’t view the bear as a heartless chicken killer anymore. It was a mama trying to feed her cub, trying to survive. The pot banging must’ve worked because every time I looked outside after that, no bear was in sight. I was up all night, reading a book and drinking some coffee. As dawn approached and light began to illuminate the property, I assumed I had scared the bear off. I went outside to check the perimeter of the garage where the other animals were kept. As I began to walk to the back of the wooden building, I heard a snap, growl, and grunt in front of me. I raised my flashlight to the woods and, through the leaves and branches, I saw two glowing orbs a very close six yards in front of me. 

The bear was still there. She graciously gave me a warning before I got too close. I slowly backed up, went into the garage, and could see through a small window that mama and cub were resting by a tree. I quietly went back into the house, and poured myself a calming drink.

It might’ve been three or four hours before I finally went outside again, and mama and baby were gone. I checked on our animals, and everyone, except for that rooster, was accounted for. I went into the woods where the mama and cub had been and there laid a pile of feathers and a bag of half eaten rabbit feed. At some point the day before, that bear must have gotten into our garage, taken a bag of feed, and dragged it into the woods.

I think of any predator of our little farm as simply just trying to survive. I hadn’t taken the precautions necessary to deter them. As a result of that long night, all of our feed is now kept in the house. We also put up high voltage electric wires and electric netting. Predators will do what predators do. It is my job to protect my animals and to teach potential predators that these are not animals they can eat. The only way to do that is to make it less enticing and as hard as possible for bears and other predators to get into our coops and other animal housing… and maybe to have a really solid emergency pot and ladle. 

 

8.  Steven, Moretown

Here’s a link to the bear who visited our house in October at 3 am. He/she looks just like a bear.

VIDEO:  Bear Video Game Camera 

 

9.  Carol, Warren 

One summer day my husband and I were sitting on our front deck when we heard a strange noise coming from the barn. When we looked over, a black bear was coming out of the barn and we watched him amble over to the horse pasture. He looked like a fairly young bear, maybe an adolescent? The bear climbed over the fence and wandered to where the horses were grazing. He seemed curious, and appeared to be looking for a new friend. He stood up tall and walked to one of the horses, who showed no reaction whatsoever. This friendly bear tried swatting at the horse’s tail to get attention but the horse just continued eating. This lonely guy took hold of a small sapling and pulled it down to the ground and then let it snap back up. Once again, no reaction whatsoever from the horses . After 20 minutes or so, he realized he wasn’t going to find a buddy here and he quietly walked off into the woods. It was amazing and fun to watch, especially as the horses weren’t fazed at all. Hopefully he found a friend at his next stop!

 

10.  Kathy, Warren  

The Adventures of Maple

It was a sunny, but exceptionally cold February afternoon when we first met Maple. Just returning from a XC ski with a friend, we were looking forward to enjoying some much needed sun with a cup of hot soup on the deck when I saw that my path up the driveway was blocked by my husband’s truck. Slightly annoyed by this inconvenience, while at the same time eyeing his log skidder nearly on its side to the left of the driveway, I rolled down my window to ask what was going on. Dave pointed to a large cherry tree about 50 feet away in the woods. “What?” I asked. “Look up in that tree!”, he pointed. And there it was, a large, black, furry mass about two thirds of the way up the tree! I couldn’t see a face, but there was no mistaking the big, fat body of a native Vermont black bear!

So let’s back up a bit. On the side of our driveway was where Dave had been stacking logs and brush for firewood. He had a load on the log skidder that he wanted to add to the pile. Unfortunately as he hit a small depression in the pile, one of the tires broke through and almost tipped the skidder over. As he started to jump off, out of the corner of his eye, Dave spotted a bear half way up a tree repeatedly licking its nose with its long tongue. It was pretty obvious someone had been startled out of a nice snooze.

Knowing he had to get the skidder unstuck, but not wanting to upset the bear anymore, he needed a solution. Fortunately he just happened to have a large excavator capable of pulling out the 35,000 lb. skidder! With Maple still licking its nose in the tree and a fair amount of luck and ingenuity, he was able to get the skidder unstuck and removed from the area. The bear was still in the tree as we all left the sight.

By the next morning there was no sight of the bear. Since we didn’t know whether the bear was a mother with cubs or a male that had chosen our log/brush pile for a winter sleep, we named our bear Maple.

Weeks later after the snow left, Dave wanted to finish the job he started, but didn’t want to disturb Maple. He quietly snuck up to where he thought the den might be and listened. To his pleasant surprise, he could hear the cubs snarling and growling and roughhousing with each other! It was only then that we knew Maple was a mom who had given birth to at least two cubs right there in our log/brush pile about 100 yards from our house!

A few weeks after that when we checked again there was no activity to be heard or seen. We don’t know where Maple and her cubs went, but she probably chose to find a more suitable den the following winter!

 

 11.  Linda, Moretown  

The Summer of 2022 at Bear Bottom Farm

Hello Friends,

My name is Peek a Boo Bear and I live at Bear Bottom Farm in Moretown. I bet you are wondering how the farm was named. Well… the bears like to play in back of the barn. It’s a great spot with lots of woods and even two ponds. It’s near where I grew up with my mama and my siblings. Last year my mama sent us off on our own because she said that we had to learn to be “independent. ”Whatever that means? Mmmm… sounds like I have to learn to find food on my own and a way to co-exist with other animals and hoomans. I think Mama calls them humans not hoomans. Mama promised me that she would always be watching out for me but that I will probably not see her. I miss my Mama’s snuggles! I guess it’s time for me to start my new adventure at Bear Bottom Farm and I will show Mama how brave I am.

In the evening hours after dark, I have been wandering the property to figure out who lives here. There is a lot going on, so I wait until night when it is quiet. Tonight, I ambled up the driveway to the top where I finally found the trash cans and a bunch of mailboxes. This is interesting there are three cans, and they are all out by the roadside. Tomorrow must be trash day! Okay this is weird there are two cans with a bunch of cardboard and empty cans. Bingo found the trash in the third one. Lights headed my way, so I better climb this tree above the mailboxes. Someone stops, opens one of the mailboxes and spy’s me up above. Oh no what is that light? What is the hooman named Emily doing? Oh, she is taking a video of me! As soon as the lights leave I climb down the tree and run into the woods forgetting about the trash.

A couple of weeks pass before I am ready to venture out of the woods back to Bear Bottom Farm. There seem to be a few critters and people that live on the farm. Some of them make funny noises that sound like quack quack and then there is a loud sound early in the morning. I heard some hooman say that’s the rooster. Then there are these three little furry things that they call kitties and two big golden colored dogs called Lady Fiona and Lady Keeva. We can’t forget the hoomans. There are 4 big ones and a little one named Callum.

Lady Fiona has two friends that come to visit her when she is inside the house and they stare at each other through the window. One is a young buck with only one antler and the other is a red squirrel who sits on the wood pile with his arms crossed. I want to be Lady Fiona’s friend too. Maybe if I sit and stare at her she will want to be my friend. So, I sit down on the hill staring at Lady Fiona and she stares at me too and then all of a sudden stats barking. The hoomans come to the window and see me. Better run back into the woods. As I head out to the woods behind the barn I notice the chickens , ducks and roosters have a bowl full of food. I am starving so I pull the fence down. They all start running in many directions. The ducks jump into the pond and the roosters and chickens hide in their red house. I devour the bowl of food before heading into the woods.

One early morning when I was hungry again I ventured out of the Bear Bottom Farm woods to find another bowl of food for the chickens and ducks. This time I cannot get into the fence. It’s not very friendly so discouraged I walk up the driveway before anyone is awake. That is when I see the garbage can and I dive in. Yummy! As I am enjoying my breakfast something big comes up the driveway with a hooman in it. I look up and it stops. The human gets out and puts that big thing between me and him. I have heard the other hoomans call him Scott and he is from someplace called Jersey. Wherever that is. All of a sudden he starts taking my picture and this is really fun, so I decide to play peek a boo and pose for him! Then off I run leaving the trash and start looking for some berries in the woods.

I come back from time to time but can’t find the trash and haven’t figured out how to get back into the coop. It’s getting late in the season, so I stay in the woods always watching the happenings at Bear Bottom Farm. I hope my Mama is proud of me. Well friends goodnight it’s time for a long winter’s nap. See you in the spring.

Love,

Peek a Boo

 

 

——–  Original Contest Information ———

It’s time for the MRV 2022 Great Amazing Bear Story Contest!

Whether you moved into the Mad River Valley within the last few years or perhaps it was multiple generations ago, you might have noticed something peculiar.  Many fur covered four-legged locals have been watching you build your dwellings and nestle into the land between your property pins.  It is usually just a matter of time before these neighbors stop by to introduce themselves.  Our community black bears have been doing a lot of that in the last few years and the MRV Bear Initiative wants to hear your best bear stories from 2022.  Share your story with others and you might be eligible to win some cool prizes!

Details:

Craft your story and submit it to the MRV Bear Initiative before Sunday March 12th, 2023.  Your story only needs to be long enough to capture our attention.  Submit any or multiple formats of recorded media – pictures, drawings, a link to a video, a poem, a diorama, an essay, etc.  Choose the format that best fits conveying your story.  Selected stories will be shared with the community as educational and inspirational opportunities for all of us to enjoy.

Are you a resident of the Valley?  Would you like to win a bear resistant trash can?  Tell us in a sentence or two what you would do with a bear toter and how it would foster bear harmony in your neighborhood.  Two lucky winners will be randomly drawn from a list of eligible entries to receive either a 64 gallon or a 96 gallon animal proof/resistant receptacle by Toter®.*  Our hope is to increasingly bear-proof our community in order to collectively improve how we coexist with our calorie seeking black bear friends.

Eligibility Criteria:

    • Our hope is to pull the most local of stories so we can learn from each other about living in bear country in the Mad River Valley. But like our black bear friends, great stories are not held to tight boundaries so don’t be shy to share a great story from Vermont or beyond.

    • Stories should be based on true sightings and/or interactions with black bears and preferably from the 2022 calendar year.

    • Eligibility to win a trash toter* requires both:

      • Adding a brief description of what you would do if you were to win a toter.

      • Providing proof that you’re a resident/homeowner of the Mad River Valley including Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield, and Warren.  These towns directly represent the MRV Bear Initiative and the committee has built this opportunity specifically for you.

    • Stories must be submitted before Sunday March 12th, 2023

    • Please keep your content to under 2 pages and/or less than 3 minutes.  The judges are volunteers and have to get back to their day jobs eventually.

    • Top entries will be selected by MRV Bear Initiative members and shared back to the community through various media channels including, but not limited to, the Valley Reporter, MRVTV, FPF, partner communications, and the multiple educational events we host throughout the year.

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