I think I know why we haven’t seen any deer lately

I was out walking with the cats tonight and as we strolled through the woods on the western boundary of our property I heard a crash behind me and the sound of a running animal.

Looking through the trees at our neighbor's field I saw a black bear running across the field and into the woods on the far side. I was stunned as I never expected that anything that large could move that fast.

It was about 3 1/2 feet high, looked to weigh about 250 pounds and it moved!

The bear did not canter like some videos I've seen, it moved at a gallop, thrusting off both back feet and landing on the front feet 5 or 6 feet away. This was rapidly repeated again and again until the bear disappeared im the distance.

I was relieved that it was running away because I could not have outrun that bear if it had been heading in my direction.

Since I was not carrying my camera, I looked online to find a bear image that resembled the bear I saw and found the image in a Prince William Sound Bear Hunt by Neil Moomey and Mike Kopcznski, May 2000.

So now that we have a bear that travels within 150 feet of our house, I will be more cautious when going outside at night.

It adds another dimension to living in the country.

UPDATE:

Here is a shot from our back deck showing the exact location where the bear was running down the slope toward the right. We will be watching this meadow closely from now on.