Bear Cub Mischief

     I mentioned in an earlier post there are some pesky bears hanging around the neighborhood.  They have been getting into trouble among other things. 

     Down at the Trail’s End Campground Momma and her cubs got into a dumpster.  The only problem was the cubs couldn’t get back out.  The caretakers of the campground had to tip the dumpster over to allow the cubs to crawl out.

     Across the bay on Fishhook Island of Seagull Lake the cubs got in a similar predicament.  This time the Momma led her cubs into a walk-in cooler and again, only she was able to get out.  The cubs spent the night snacking until morning when the camp workers released the cubs and found a huge mess for them to clean up.

     We’re pretty sure this is the same Momma and cubs that have been hanging out at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters.  The DNR no longer live traps and relocates bears so people are sometimes given permission to shoot a nuisance bear.  The problem with a Momma and cubs is if you shoot the Momma then the cubs most likely won’t make it through the winter so you kill the whole family. 

     I personally do not like the option of shooting a nuisance bear or bears.  We’re in the woods, the camp is on an island and the bears are just looking for food.  They have knocked over our garbage cans, crawled into our dumpster and scrounged around for food.  We just have to be careful to secure the lid on our dumpster, make sure our garbage cans are empty and then the bears won’t make a mess.  If they start coming into the lodge in broad daylight then I may think differently but until then and maybe even after that I hope the Momma and her cubs are allowed to live in their woods.