Sunday afternoon, a very big black bear visited our backyard, searching for food. After devouring the mixed bird seed and dismanteling the feeder from it's hanger, he headed for the sunflower seed. Eyeing the birdbath, a drink of water was needed to wash down the seed. The corn set up for the squirrels was trashed and then the return to the woods. After hearing a cry from another animal, we didn't see him for the rest of the evening. Sometime about midnoght, he returned to check out the garbage cans. Trash bags were carried into the nearby woods, while the cans were strewn about in the driveway.
The bags were scattered about again on Monday night. All bird feeder have been removed, water emptied from the birdbath, and trash can moved inside the garage.
A call to Taney County 911 on Sunday, was of no help. I was told that the Conservation Dept can do nothing unless there was a lot of destruction and they would not be notified. He also told me they had been several reports of bear activity in the Taney County area lately. I believe this is a potentially dangerous situation and at least we should know about the situation and the dangers to children, pets, and livestock.