My daughter had just sat down to breakfast consisting of yogurt and honey, rice cakes and peanut butter, and then said, "There is a black bear in our backyard," and, indeed, there was. He/she was beautiful and was lumbering through, en route to our Town Manager's yard, with probably a stop at a wonderful vegetable garden of another neighbor.
I was mesmerized by the beauty of this animal with the glossy fur (thoroughly washed by the downpours of Hurricane Irene) but my daughter reacted quickly and scooped up her smartphone and took the photo above as he marched on.
I contacted many of our neighbors (some of whom were running and taking walks outside) and even reached 911 and was told that the environmental police will be tracking this animal.
We have had deer visit us, numerous turkeys, foxes, raccoons, and even a large turtle, but this is the first time that we saw a big black bear right in our own backyard and in broad daylight! Moreover, the bear came through at a time, starting next week, when there will be many children waiting for the schoolbus on our street.
Perhaps the bear was off to one of the numerous college orientations taking place now in Amherst from UMass Amherst to Amherst College.
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