The area I live in Northern Wisconsin is known as the "Black Bear Capitol of the World." Its how we advertise the area still. The area used to boast as having the largest black bear population per square mile anywhere in the United States. Although I think Pennsylvania has now took that title. We also are known for a record size black bear killed 3 miles out of town. Field dressed it was 689 pounds. I think that too has now been beat. But ... we have a lot of bears around here. At the DNR office there is a 543 pound bear, fully body mounted. That thing is huge!!!

When I purchased the place, no one told me about the bear situation. So in my back yard was a "flower pot stand"



That first lock ring is six feet. So since I was not a flower person, I hung bird feeders off some of the hooks. In the morning, I found every hook that has a feeder, TORE from the main stem. You can see the four of them still hanging from the other hooks. Needless to say, no feeding the birds on my property.

Bear used to be an almost daily sighting on the place. They would cross the back field through the woods, sometimes come up near the house...



This used to be all too common in the yard. Bears walking in, just checking me out. They've stolen my feed barrel that was chained to a tree. They came on the porch and took the recycle barrel and carried it out into the yard until I screamed at them and they run off. And the worst was coming out of the garage one night, and I flipped on the yard light so I could see to the house, and there was a bear sitting by the back door.

I can feel your pain. And if he found food there once, they will be back. So you might as well pull your feeders.