There’s A Bear In My Backyard

For some Michigan residents, a bear in their backyard is terrifying, for me, it's the best news ever.

I have hunted black bear in Canada and in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and to this day those are the most exciting hunts I have ever been a part of. Yes, I love my whitetail deer hunting and have had some incredible moments, but there is just something about the sight of black bear.

Granted, I have been pretty close to several black bears and really thought it was cool that my buddy Curt, who lives in the U.P., has bears on his land but I never thought I would own a piece of land that had bears on it.

Just a little over a year after moving back to Michigan I purchased an old farm house and property in an area that is said to have bears. I have heard stories from every neighbor about seeing a bear cross the road, knock over the bird feeder and have been captured on a trail camera, but I had yet to see one clearly.

What I mean by seeing one clearly, I have a long drive to and from work and on my drive I'm always scanning for deer, turkeys, bear and coyotes. I see plenty of deer and turkeys and the occasional coyote but never see a bear. One day on my way home it was almost dark and I think I saw a bear cross the road but it was far away and almost dark and just couldn't be sure. A month ago I caught a blurred glimpse of a bear at the edge of my trail camera, so yes it's a bear but not a really clear image.

This past weekend my son and I did a trail camera run and were sifting through the photos and bam, finally a clear photo of a bear. I have to tell you, I was so excited and still am. Although I don't plan to hunt for bears on my land (there are just not enough to make it worth it, plus drawing in bears can hurt my deer and turkey hunting.)

I know there are low numbers in my area because I've had trail cameras out almost year around for a year and a half and it wasn't until the last few days that I got some photos. When I first bought the place I found some old scat but other than that no tracks, scat, sightings, trail cam photos...nothing.

It is still exciting nonetheless to have finally captured a Michigan black bear on camera on land that I own. I know I sound a little crazy, but I love the outdoors.