Bear vs Birdfeeder

October 15, 2005 1:09 AM

Never store your honey in a birdfeeder for safe keeping. That's the FIRST place they look!
posted by jonson (28 comments total)

Gorgeous pics, thanks.
posted by fvw at 1:23 AM on October 15, 2005

Awesome. This is great.
posted by null terminated at 1:29 AM on October 15, 2005

I can't even look at pictures like this without thinking of The Edge. Or The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I have a lot of bear issues, I guess.
posted by maryh at 1:54 AM on October 15, 2005

Smarter Than the Average Bear.™
posted by planetkyoto at 2:08 AM on October 15, 2005

That is one tough rope.
posted by gwint at 5:44 AM on October 15, 2005

LOL thanks for the link
posted by zouhair at 6:02 AM on October 15, 2005

or, maybe a Bear With An Identity Problem trying to get back home. Silly Bear...
posted by Laotic at 6:31 AM on October 15, 2005

Beautiful.
posted by Termite at 7:38 AM on October 15, 2005

Very cool. Thanks.
posted by Bort at 8:18 AM on October 15, 2005

Wow, what a bear! Thanks!
posted by Ricky_gr10 at 8:34 AM on October 15, 2005

Great pics!
posted by madamjujujive at 8:34 AM on October 15, 2005

In 2050 when our panzerbjorne are rappeling from helicopters to clear out mosques in unpronouncable-stan I'll remember this link.
posted by BrotherCaine at 8:51 AM on October 15, 2005

These are great pictures. There is a big debate out where I live as to whether you can legally shoot a bear that is on your property [since there is a specific season for hunting them and all] if you have birdfeeders that are creating the bear version of "attractive nuisance" since bear baiting is otherwise against the law.
posted by jessamyn at 9:20 AM on October 15, 2005

Great pics. They make me wonder about all of the times I've hung my food while out backpacking. Time to invest in a bear canister, I guess.
posted by Staggering Jack at 9:37 AM on October 15, 2005

The even crazier thing about these pictures (oddly, these are friends of friends pics) is that this is in metro Atlanta - Dunwoody for those of you from down here. Surprising to know that we have bears this close in to the city...
posted by GrumpyMonkey at 9:41 AM on October 15, 2005

So what we need is one of those birdfeeders that spin around and fling the bears off.
posted by ancientgower at 10:13 AM on October 15, 2005

Time to invest in a bear canister, I guess.

Pssht. I just put my stuff inside a giant cloth bag shaped like Timothy Treadwell and stand it outside the tent. The bears never touch it, and never will.
posted by gramschmidt at 10:15 AM on October 15, 2005

Or you could put your food in a Project Grizzly suit.
posted by Staggering Jack at 10:32 AM on October 15, 2005

I have a lot of bear issues, I guess.

R. A. Lafferty, in an aside in his short story Snuffles, wrote that every culture has scary bear stories--even where there are no bears, like the Maori on New Zealand. I've always wondered if that was true.
posted by y2karl at 10:51 AM on October 15, 2005

LOL, gramschmidt. Or first you can lure a budding Treadwell with Heroin.
posted by drezdn at 11:41 AM on October 15, 2005

Someone needs to adapt one of those rotating, squirrel-flinging birdfeeders to large black bears.
posted by mecran01 at 12:54 PM on October 15, 2005

OMG, I have got to get one of those squirrel-proof rotating bird feeders! I had no idea they existed! Here's a Quicktime video of one in action. They're called the "Yankee Flipper".
posted by Asparagirl at 1:54 PM on October 15, 2005

I really, really hate Cute Animal Links. But this was amazing! I also loved the wording of the FPP -- hilarious.
posted by digaman at 2:46 PM on October 15, 2005

Thanks, digaman. I honestly puzzled at seeing the pictures; why on earth was the bear going to so much trouble to get to a birdfeeder? Do bears like seeds THAT much?
posted by jonson at 2:48 PM on October 15, 2005

> Although many people find it difficult to believe, an animal as large and powerful as black bear is readily attracted to bird feeders as a source of food. Black bears are for the most part vegetarians, and bird seed, even in minute quantities is a highly desirable food for them. In many cases, it is the food of choice and will be sought out over other natural foods.

Somebody tell the NYSDEC how to use commas.
posted by dhartung at 3:53 PM on October 15, 2005

Bears eat keeper who took their bile
posted by homunculus at 7:09 PM on October 15, 2005

I shot this bear while he was trying to get to my honey:


posted by Smedleyman at 1:06 AM on October 16, 2005

The even crazier thing about these pictures (oddly, these are friends of friends pics) is that this is in metro Atlanta - Dunwoody for those of you from down here. Surprising to know that we have bears this close in to the city...

That's weird because I also know people who know the people who took the pictures and they took them in Alaska. It's regular old Costco line btw.
posted by fshgrl at 10:17 PM on October 17, 2005