Close Encounters … of the Bear Kind
By Sandy Balayan
April 2025
When we moved to Otis 20 years ago, we set up a bird feeder. In short order it was destroyed and the contents were totally gone. A neighbor kindly filled us in, and from that moment on we realized that feeding the birds was not advisable in this area.
Our cousins came to see the new house and brought a garbage can full of seeds and a beautiful bird feeder on a pole. We thought they were trying to kill us! Not a good gift for a home in the woods of the Berkshires. Since then, we have had our new grill dismantled after cooking chicken. The only thing remaining was the propane tank. The parts left strewn on the ground did not, nor would ever again, resemble a grill. The culprits were never caught, but our bird feeder and grill were toast.
We are not the only ones this has happened to of course. We have heard endless stories around Otis about close encounters, unplanned, with black bears. I thought it would be fun to put this out there and see what our community had to say about their own run-ins with these interlopers. Truth be known, we are the interlopers. We came and built our houses in their woods and they are willing to share it with us for a small fee, garbage, dumpsters, birdseed and anything left along at a picnic or the proverbial steaming pie cooling by the kitchen window screen. Sit back and enjoy. Have any of these things happened to you?
Carol Hoebel of Klondike shared that they’ve had a small bear that might have lost his momma creating a lot of havoc by going into campers, opening sliders and breaking in through windows. “He had quite the party and ate everything! He had no fear. Knocked over gas grills also. We called him Yogi.”
Richard Sgaglio has caught bears looking in the windows from his deck on his video cam but has never had a one-on-one sighting on the deck. Travis Guin had a big fella visit last March. He walked by the living room window and Travis was able to video it.
Ever have the feeling someone was watching you? Well just ask Judy and Burvee Franz. “A couple of years ago, we were sitting looking out our lakefront window. We had the feeling that something was watching us. We turned our swivel chairs around to look out the back at our glass door. You can imagine our surprise when we saw a huge bear looking right in at us. By the time I got my phone to get a picture, the bear was casually walking over to our neighbor’s yard!”
Zachary Pelikan shares, “After over 20 years in Otis, I have never come face to face with a bear. That is until this last summer. I went for a walk around sunset. I chose to stay on a busier road as opposed to a secluded path, since it was getting dark. Coming around a bend, the trees were pretty thick and right up to the road. Then out of nowhere, I saw/heard a black bear within the woods, ten feet away. We both jumped, with the bear just as startled to see me as I was to see him. It ran off and disappeared into the forest, as I slowly backed away to head home. They are always getting into our garbage. Even when in a closed garbage can in a locked shed, they still find their way in.” You aren’t alone Zachary! The perfect bear deterrent has not been invented yet!
On a beautiful spring morning in 2001, Laurie Crittendon Nikituk had too close of an encounter for her liking. “I walked my children to the bus stop at the end of our private road, about a 1/4 mile trek. They got on the bus and I grabbed my Berkshire Eagle at my mailbox and walked home. It was so nice out, I decided to grab a cup of coffee and the cordless (no cell phones yet) and sit out in the yard to read the paper. My favorite chair was about 50' from the house under the big Beech tree. After drinking about half of my cup of coffee and a section or two of the paper, something moving caught my eye. Approximately 20' to my left was a huge black bear with two nuisance ear tags ambling along. I must have been downwind as he/she didn't seem to notice me. So, I carefully stood up, left my paper and coffee in place and was about to move toward the house when my phone rang which unfortunately got the bear's attention! I immediately pushed the talk button as I ran like hell toward my door! As I was running, I was yelling, ‘Hold on! I'm running from a bear!’ When I got into the house and bolted the door, I looked out to see the bear snooping and sniffing around my coffee and my paper and starting toward the house. It seemed to lose interest and turned around and walked away toward the woods. I later learned from the environmental police that this habituated bear had been named ‘two tags’. I was told that he/she had ‘attended’ an outdoor graduation party a few weeks later, uninvited. The bear unfortunately had to be shot because it was helping itself to the party food and not at all disturbed by the humans all around it.”
“When I first bought my house in Otis, a black bear walked right up to my deck. To say I was unprepared for such a large animal to appear is an understatement. I was with my friend and we screamed so loud. My neighbor eventually ventured out to see if we were okay, given the level of yelling heard. Although I have to say the bear turned around after we stopped screaming. I also learned that bears can swim. Lots of lessons learned that day,” shared Melissa Byrnes.
Speaking of lessons learned, remember to clean your grill after each use. Don’t leave trash or food unattended. Make noise so you don’t surprise a bear. Carry bear spray, and most importantly, try to change your route while remaining calm in the face of fear. Watch your chickens, beehives, small animals and keep your dogs leashed. There hasn’t been a black bear attack in the Berkshires since the 1880s so let’s keep it that way.
