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“Bears, mountain lions and even wolves have been permitted to return to these areas.”

I have been told by very credible sources that NY is getting paid by NJ to relocate their ‘problem’ bears.

My biggest concern is that they are releasing some of them practically in our backyard! We are very remote and our property borders a 2000 acre section of state land. We have had bears in our gardens 100 ft. from the house, as well as directly on our back deck no more than 5 ft. from our picture window.

Believe me, it’s a shock to hear a noise outside and open the curtains only to look directly into the eyes of a 400 lb. black bear bending a 1” heavy steel pipe (not a tent pole) like it was made of plastic just to get to our bird-feeder.

I’ve had numerous encounters with bears during a lifetime of working (logging in the northwest) and living in the woods. Generally, they were timid and split when yelled at. These NJ bears seem to have an attitude and being scared of humans is not one of their traits.

I remember when the baby was taken off the porch during a mid-day family gathering in the Catskills. That’s bold!

Mrs. panax spends a lot of time in her gardens this time of year and I will shoot, without hesitation, if I see one while she’s out there. Guess I’ll have to deal with the authorities later IF they find out about it before my neighbor and his backhoe get here.