ShareThisBy JIM BALLOCH
Scripps Howard News Service
Friday, May 11, 2007
It might have appeared that the bear was looking for accommodations more sophisticated than a cave in the woods.
But more likely, he was just temporarily sidetracked from his search for a home in the wild.
A young black bear was sighted May 6 nosing around a bird feeder at the Cherokee Bluff condominium community here, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The bear was probably on the move looking for new habitat, said Wildlife biologist Dave Brandenburg.
"Presumably, he was not looking for a condo," Brandenburg added.
When young black bears reach a certain age range, they naturally begin to disperse from their first home areas and seek their own habitat, whereas female bears tend to stay closer to their original home areas, he said.
"It's not uncommon for (the young males) to move 50, even 100 miles," Brandenburg said.
Mostly, they will be active at night and try to avoid human contact. But they can be attracted by outdoor food sources, such as bird feeders, garbage and pet or livestock food, and may hang around as long as such items are available.
"This is not uncommon," Brandenburg said.
(Contact Jim Balloch of The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at www.knoxnews.com.)
