Scientists report that a favorite food of many bears, nuts from whitebark pine cones, is scarce. So as grizzlies look to put on some major pounds in preparation for the long winter ahead, they will be looking for another source of protein - meat - and running into trouble along the way. Wildlife managers already report bears coming down off the mountains and into areas frequented by hunters, berry pickers and hikers. “Pack your bear spray,” said grizzly researcher Chuck Schwartz with the U.S. Geological Survey. “There’s going to be run-ins.” The reason to lose weight? If bears are looking to make a meal of a human it stands to reason the fatter you are, the more bear cubs you would be able to feed. Any intelligent grizzly would know that one plump human is worth at least two skinny ones/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Have you ever carried bear spray while camping, hunting, or hiking in bear country? Or do you prefer a handgun?

We are having a record year for nuisance bear calls in Bonner County. Food sources were limited this spring and the bears are looking for anything they can find as hunger sets in. Common attractants include, garbage, bird feeders, and pet food. If they don’t find anything to eat at your house, they will move on. We can only hope this summer brings a bumper huckleberry crop to make the bears happy!!!!

Question: Have you ever come close to a bear in the wild?

Last night I experienced a rare middle of the night dream that I remembered vividly right after I woke from it and later this morning. It was a bear dream. I’m riding on the back of a motorcycle, a fairly nondescript trail bike, and I’m behind a man whose face I can’t see and never see the entire dream. He’s wearing a white shirt and jeans. We’re riding on a fairly well graded  logging road in a forested area. There are green cut areas to the left, rising up on gentle meadowed hillsides, to the right is a downsloped dark forest. I spot a large bear with two fairly small cubs running parallel and a bit behind us on the hillside above. We continue riding but now the bears are on the road and behind us, they are pursuing us. The cubs run on the outsides of the road but the mother bear, which appears to be a grizzly by her dished face and size is straight behind us and gaining. She has a firm and grim look to her. She is not chasing us merely for exercise/TUBOB.  More here.

Question: Do you dream often? If so, of what?