Pooh Corner in downtown Old Forge

At our Howl Story Slam last week, I heard about a mama bear and her three cubs who had spent 10 hours up a tree in downtown Old Forge. Turns out Michele deCamp, a retired teacher and semi-professional photographer, took some photos. Michele, a life-long resident of Old Forge, told me that the mother bear and her cubs were spotted in the tree in the morning and immediately surrounded by tourists and others. The DEC arrived on the scene, moved the crowd back and, finally, as evening arrived, the bear and her cubs were able to climb down and leave town.

Old Forge has long been known for the deer who wander undisturbed through the village streets and, no doubt, gardens and flower beds. Michele told me that the town is also visited regularly by bears–smart bears, bears who sometimes figure out how to get into cars and eat the candy bars, gum and any other food they find. A car is never the same after a visit from a hungry bear. One bear was caught methodically trying to remove the siding from a candy shop. When events like this happen, bears may have to be destroyed–human feeding of bears, intentional or unintentional, is not to be encouraged.

In any case, the bears in the photos made it safely out of town, though Michele’s friend, on whose property the tree is located, did say it was clear from what was left behind around the tree that bears had been in residence for half a day.

Here are more of Michele’s great photos.