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We have a place down at green river lake close to Holmes Bend and a friend of mine sent me a picture of a black bear off 551 around little Egypt. I had heard some rumblings of them in that area but now this confirms it. So watch your garbage if you camp in that area.
[QUOTE=JHill;547559]We have a place down at green river lake close to Holmes Bend and a friend of mine sent me a picture of a black bear off 551 around little Egypt. I had heard some rumblings of them in that area but now this confirms it. So watch your garbage if you camp in that area.[/QUOTE] Two years ago a confirmed sighting as far down the water shed as Cromwell in Ohio Co. The river is a natural roadway. Thy are moving west and using the Green as road.
There is multiple pictures of the bear. If you go to columbiamagazine.com you can find 6-7 different pictures. Go to the photo archive and keep going thru pictures. The first confirmed photo was Sunday 6/7 about 6 miles south of Columbia in the Glensfork community. The next photo was about 3 miles south of Columbia. Then on monday there were multiple photos took about 5 miles north of Columbia in the Egypt community. I live just off Holmes Bend road. The last sighting was about 1.5 miles from my house in a straight line.
There was an interview in the local paper with a biologist from KDFW concerning the bear. They said it was a young male that was out of his normal range. They reported that it was not uncommon at this time of year for a young male to be out roaming looking for something to eat along with finding a new home. He was more than likely run off from his family and it's time for him to find a mate and establish a new home range. From Columbia the closest home range for black bears that have males and females that raise young is in Monticello KY.
The biologist reported that it is illegal to kill a black bear in KY. However if you encounter an aggressive black bear you do have the right to defend yourself...but you can not shoot one just because he is here. Typically wild black bears are non aggressive and are more scared of you than you are of them. In the rare occasion they show aggression it is typically because they are protecting their young or they have found a food source that keeps getting supplied by humans. They recommend if a bear is in the area to keep garbage put up until the pick up man is ready to take it away. Also any cat or dog food that is typically kept outside should be put away. Their normal diet is vegetarian/fruit/nuts. They will consume food that we eat but that is not their normal diet.
The bear that moved through is more than likely long gone. From the time he was first spotted on sunday until the last time he was spotted on monday spanned several miles. By driving distance it would be 12 miles or more...walking and cutting through the woods and fields I am sure the distance would be much less. The bear is on the move and "should" be gone...unless he found a female companion...then he is ready to establish a new home. BTW this is not the first time a black bear has been spotted in Adair County. In 2003 another young male roamed through. He was spotted by a few people and just like this one he moved on looking for a place to find a mate and establish a new home. Spotting a young male on "the prowl" looking for love is not uncommon.
here is a few of the pictures...if you go thru the photo archive you can find more. The first one was posted 6/7
Sunday 6/7 about 6-7 miles south of Columbia. Not far from the Hardscratch store and the junction of hwy 900
[url]http://www.columbiamagazine.com/photos/60795.jpg[/url]
Sunday 6/7 about 3 miles south of Columbia
[url]http://www.columbiamagazine.com/photos/60730.jpg[/url]
Monday 6/8 about 5 miles north of Columbia
[url]http://www.columbiamagazine.com/photos/60739.jpg[/url]
Wow. Very interesting.