One of Nolan Richardson’s favorite lines took on new meaning at my house Thursday night.
The hall of fame former Arkansas basketball coach often told his players when emphasizing his toughness, “If you see me in a fight with a bear, help the bear.”
OK, Coach, there is a bear in my neighborhood. He’s big and he sure looks bad. I don’t think he needs any help.
I live in the city limits of Norfork, 15 minutes south of Mountain Home. But it’s not in a town. I live in the woods with only seven houses in a 100-acre “neighborhood” with two gravel roads that cross.
The neighborhood phone tree went crazy just before dark Thursday when a huge black bear visited where the seven mailboxes are clustered. He stood on his hind legs to greet an elderly lady walking to the mailbox.
Yikes.
That is an imposing sight. I got the first phone call because our home is only 100 yards from that intersection.
“It’s the biggest black bear we’ve had around here in a long, long time,” my neighbor said. “I know your wife walks your lab on our roads. We called you first.”
Thirty minutes later came another phone call from a neighbor that shares our back property line. They actually live on a paved road.
“There is a huge bear in your back trees,” I was told. “I wouldn’t go outside, or let your dog out tonight unless on a leash.”
We did not. Our dog didn’t want to be more than a few feet from the house Thursday night to do her business because we had a thunderstorm.
Then, came proof of the bear. There was a photo of “our” bear on a game camera from the same neighbor. Indeed, it is huge.
It was then that I realized that no one was over stating the size of the bear. It might scare Nolan.
The bear was still in the area of our house Friday morning, but it’s not been sighted again. It’s probably long gone now because no one thinks food is available.
Without food, a bear can and will travel a great distance in one day. Jean Ann, my wife, doesn’t seem bothered. She and our 11-year-old lab, Rosie, took a 4-mile walk today and did not see our bear.
We were told that the bear is probably more scared of people than we are of it. And, that goes double for dogs. Maybe so, but it can make you nervous.
It’s kind of cool to live in the woods. There is not a better place to shelter in place than Norfork. We’ve had no positive cases of the coronavirus just yet, but plenty of critters.
There are lots of turkey. I hear the hens yelp each night, but no gobblers. We have an eagle’s nest close and the deer are plentiful.
We have had a bobcat in the neighborhood in the last six months and our lab once trotted away from a coyote den with a pup in its mouth. That was not a fun day because there can be all sorts of issues caused by a coyote bite.
The mother coyote wasn’t in the den, but took the cue from the dog visit to move her pups. We have heard them of late, but have not seen any.
It’s always interesting when you live in the country. We must spray the area around the house – almost two acres – for ticks. The deer carry them into the yard and so I don a back-pack sprayer about every six weeks starting in late spring.
We have regular tick checks. It’s not like the Brad Paisley song, but it’s a must if you live in the woods.
We haven’t thought about the possibility of a big pest until this week. Everyone has moved their rolling garbage cans into their garages.
Officers with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission have been notified. They probably won’t do anything unless there are quite a few more bear sightings and close to homes. They can trap and relocate our bear if necessary.
I guess I could call Nolan to set up a match.
Sorry, Coach, but you aren’t a spring chicken anymore. I think our bear might be a slight favorite.
I’d let the AGFC officers help.