For all you bear enthusiasts out there I have a couple questions.

Background: I've recently moved to a house on a farm in the mountains. A couple of weeks ago, late one night,I heard a noise in my back yard. I turned on the back flood lightand when I looked to see if it was deer stealing apples I didn't see any deer but saw a pear tree near my house was shaking a lot. Thinking it was a couple of racoons in the tree I got my flashlight and went outside to get a closer look. About 15 yards away I still couldn't see anything because the tree was pretty leafy. Suddenly a big (about 5 or 6 feet long and at least 200 pounds) black bear dropped to the ground and huffed at me and ran away up hill. Obviously I was startled.

A week later my wife and some guests were standing on the back porch after dark (around 9 pm). They heard some growling and came inside (quite hurriedly I might add, much to my amusement). I could hear the growling through the window and it sounded like a deep low growl short but repeated several times.

I'm not up on bear lore since the only bears we had further east were in the swamps which I didn't hunt so could some of you guys enlighten me? I understood black bears to be shy creatures and avoided human contact. My wife and guests were talking at a normal conversational level and I think the porch light was on. What was the motive for the growling? Is it like deer who snort to get something to move so that they can identify something they don't know? How likely is this bear to continue to hang around my house? I can legally take him/her during bow season Oct 1 but I'm not sure I want to. I don't have much need for one and I'm not sure I'd like the meat. But it makes my wife nervous and we have three small kids, so I have to keep them in mind if this guy is going to keep showing up around here.

It's kinda hard to tell how long the bear will hang around with the food source that handy. It could've been a sow with cubs which would explain the growling. I would call the game commission and tell them and they will trap the bear and move it.

Kill that bear and if you don't want the meat give it to hunters for the hungry

I would be more than happy to take...I mean remove...that bear for you

I would get a tag for him so when Oct 1st rolls around you can legally take him.If he isnt affraid of you and your wife then he wont be affraid of the kids.I would kill him when the season rolls around.He is there for the food in those trees.who knows you might enjoy the hunt of the bear and take it up also.Not to mention a nice bear rug on the floor is a nice piece to talk about.

We automatically get bear tags with our big game license here. I've got two friends falling over themselves wanting to kill it but I thought it was kind of neat having it around. If it seems to be a pest or danger I'll shoot it. Didn't know HFH took bear meat. I've donated deer meat, maybe I'll do that and have a rug made. Hmm.

Just a quick post, hopefully I will have more time later to post. Buta bear that looses it's fear of humans can be and I stress the word can, become a terrible nusciance as well as a danger. Try by scaring it away first, loud noises or a shot in the air. If that don't work and he comes back, I would call your local warden and inform him/her of the problem and see what they come back with. I live in the woods in northwestern Ontario where there are bears everywhere. I don't worry too much about the odd bear that comes poking around camp. Where I do get a little edgy is when they come back and just look at you or woof or snap teeth or thump the ground with their front feet. I have been false charged a couple of times by bears that get into our garbage and wont leave. I have two little boys myself and feel the need to protect my family if needed. Just keep an eye on them, like I said once they loose the fear of us, they become a pretty brave animal and when the tree runs out of apples, they will more than likely forage for something else.
Well, guess that was more than just a quickie, but that is my feelings on the situation.
Keep us informed

Do you even have to wait for the season if it is on private property?
Not sure...never had the luxury.

Tim

Yeah, unless you get a game warden to remove it you can't shoot out of season. Any ideas on the growling? Do they do intimidating growls? Repeatedly?

I have had a bear growl and bluff charge before near my house. Around here they are becoming more & more common. People keep feeding them because they enjoy seeing them. The more these bears become habituated to humans, the more likely something bad will happen... to somebodies child or something...
When season starts... Shoot him!