Here’s What to do When a Bear Nearly Steps on You

Wakey, wakey black bears!  Rumors and gossip fly through this country like hummingbirds to a feeder.  You can nearly think a thought in your house and before you speak it, someone has already spread the word.  And the more drama involved, the quicker she goes.  I had heard the bears were up, the hunters were coming and a nearby popular marina was closed down, but the marina tale was definitely a lie.  Competition is fierce out here.

I decided to check out the rumors myself.  I grabbed all the trail cameras my friend Charlie Sneed donated for our bear conservation project and headed to my favorite springtime estuary.   It’s easy for us to say there are lots of bears around, because we do see them so frequently, but Charlie and I want to know the real facts.  Our goal is to get to know all the bears who live in Viner Sound, a very popular area for the hunting guides who operate in our territory.  This year I contacted the owner and lead guide for the company to discuss this years bear hunt.  Us locals have always called him “The Bear Hunter”.  I won’t mention the other feelings, accusations or profanities directed at the “Bear Hunter’s” boat as it races past our houses.  I wanted to change that and put a human name to this guy and see if somehow I could help bring Light to this continual animosity.

I decided the cure was a non-judgmental attitude and I was going to express Tolerance:  the will to give everyone freedom in thought and speech. Criticism and condemnation are two of the darkest expressions we can send out.  And though we often like to ignore universal laws, this one’s true – whatever energy is sent out, comes right back to its sender.  And thoughts are far more powerful energies than people like to believe.

My idea worked.  The company and I had great conversations, agreeing on many of the same things and willing to adopt new procedures to benefit us all.  We came to a wonderful agreement.  They would leave Viner Sound wild and free.  Some of you may be thinking, “Why don’t they just stop killing bears all together?  Let’s hang their heads on a plaque and see how they like it.”  I believe it’s far wiser to look into the Self.

I wish I would have had time to camo myself up before a big ol’ black bear sauntered out of the forest near me, but instead I was caught stranded, crouched behind a 1-foot tall log and a spruce sapling the diameter of a silver dollar.  It’s always a gift to observe animals do their thing when they think no one is watching.  This guy found a log to sit down on and rubbed his itchy butt!  The look on his face was priceless.

Meet Cam and find out what happens when you’re fearless and in love with bears…