I live in bear country in northern Michigan, and while bears are not at all rare up here, seeing them is highly unusual.

My dad had the pleasure a few months ago, just driving down a back country road. He wasn’t looking for a bear; he was just seeing what he could see, but as he passed a driveway to somebody’s summer place, there stood a beautiful black bear staring back at him.

We seem to be fairly lucky and that well the bear population is healthy, much of the land around here is uninhabited, and food is plentiful. So bears rarely try to come into town.

I have farmers friends, though, who have to watch their bird feeders carefully. If they aren’t high enough off the ground, bear problems result!