Calling Ranger Smith! Yogi Bear raids a bee hive in my county!

Not so long ago, I read a news report that said the bears are now waking from their long winter slumbers.  And like many humans, they probably wake up, mmmm, hungry as a bear!  That means they get up, yawn, scratch themselves some, then decide to scrounge around for something to eat.  I think bears are like a lot of humans.  They're not always particular what they eat.  You know how it goes; you wake up and in a fit of hunger, then you eat the first thing you find. 

But the last thing most humans would do would be to raid a bee hive with thousands of angry and confused bees.  Bears? They're not so particular.

Just this week I read that my friends Jessica and Glenn over at The Beneficial Bee had their bee hive ravaged by a bear.  And then tonight one of our local television stations reported that a bear got into a local beekeepers hive in Madison, North Carolina.

While the town of Madison is rather rural and almost 19 miles from me on the other side of the county, its still a little close for any kind of bear sightings. Especially when they're getting into bee hives!    

I guess I'm thankful I live in a bigger city in the county and my bee hives are behind my house.  But to be honest, I've seen a bunch of deer in my neighbor's yard at their apple tree, so I guess that's no guarantee that a bear wouldn't wander around here too.

So like Ranger Smith keeping an eye out for Yogi Bear and Boo Boo as they try to snatch a "pic-a-nic" basket -- I guess all of us Rockingham County beekeepers will have to keep a closer eye on all of our bee hives.

I'll be happy if the bears will just stay in Jellystone Park!

Here's the story that was broadcast on our local Fox affiliate, WGHP!       

Yes, Virginia! There is a Santa Claus...and bears in Rockingham County!

This story is from this morning's News & Record (Greensboro, NC). It is about a mama bear and her three cubs (pictured to the left...yes, that's some of them) that scampered up a tree over the weekend in Madison, which is in the western section of my county. Reason they were there? Oh...I don't know...could it be...HONEY? Read on. By the way, I'm glad that I'm a city beekeeper!

OH POOH! NO HONEY FOR THESE BEARS!

The family of bears likely came looking for honey but instead found themselves up a tree, held hostage by neighbors near Old Wagon Trail.



The first sightings of the bear and three cubs came about dusk Sunday, and by Monday morning, they had an audience.


But by 1 p.m., the bears had enough of the show and decided to bid their temporary refuge goodbye.


“I guess they decided to take a chance and run,” said Josh Brim, who lives on Old Wagon Trail.


The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office said it began receiving calls about the bears Sunday evening. Sheriff’s office spokesman Dean Venable said deputies, animal control and wildlife officers took a look at the bears but hoped they would come down on their own.


When the bears didn’t, the officers returned Monday to see what could be done to coax them.


“It’s not uncommon to see a bear in some of our rural areas,” Venable said. “We’ve lost a lot of our timberland, and they’re coming in to hunt food.”


The area where the bears were found is rural, located off U.S. 311. Old Wagon Trail is a gravel road with just a few homes.


The bears climbed up trees on the property of DeWitt and Darlene Brown. The couple thinks mama bear may have smelled honey for her cubs.


DeWitt Brown raises bees and said bears will “tear your hives all to pieces.”


Darlene Brown thinks the bears’ quest for food was derailed by the barking of her dogs, a black lab and a collie.


The dogs’ lot is next to the trees where the bears sought refuge. Had it not been for them, Darlene Brown guesses, the bears would have had a field day with her husband’s hives.


The sheriff’s office reported seeing a mom and two cubs, but the Browns and Brim said a third cub was in a second tree.


In the end, Sheriff Sam Page said it only took giving the bears a little space — and quiet — to get them to descend the trees.


The barking dogs were moved, and someone operating machinery nearby was told to turn it off, he said. Onlookers were kept back as much as possible.


DeWitt Brown said he’s not worried about the mom and cubs coming after his honey again.


“She’s had so much excitement,” he said. “I think she’s gone from here.”