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Liberty doctor spots bear in his backyard — again
By Ed Runyan
LIBERTY
Dr. Samir Fatteh has had two close encounters with black bears in his backyard on Appaloosa Trail in the past two months — the most recent one at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The bear was not a cub but not full-grown either, Dr. Fatteh said. He estimates it was about 1 year old and might have stood as high as 6 feet tall if it had stood up.
“It’s young, but it’s a bear,” Dr. Fatteh said.
Having seen this or a similar bear in his back- yard June 24, he did some research.
Afterward, he took down his bird feeder to take away a source of food that might attract the bear. After waiting more than a month, he put the feeder back up, however.
He also learned that black bears are not terribly aggressive and don’t like noises.
So when he saw the bear Thursday in his backyard, the first thing he did was take some pictures. Then he opened his screen door and took a step toward the bear, which looked at him momentarily, then started to walk away.
Dr. Fatteh’s mother, who lives with him, then banged some pots and pans, and the bear disappeared into the woods.
Dr. Fatteh says he’s not surprised that a bear would be attracted to his neighborhood because of the woods and open spaces surrounding his street, which is just west of Warner Road and east of Belmont Avenue.
“There’s lots of woods. We get turkeys and deer there,” he said.
Dr. Fattah says he thinks the first bear visit to his house was June 20, because he noticed damage to one of his large bird feeders when he came home at lunchtime.
At about 9 p.m. June 24, he saw the bear in his yard, and it ripped a bird feeder down.
Fortunately, Dr. Fatteh saw the bear on Thursday in time to prevent it from doing much damage to the feeder, he said.
He contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife to report the sightings.
Jamey Graham, spokeswoman for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, has said residents seeing a bear moving toward them should clap and shout to scare it off.
“Bears don’t like movement or loud noises. They really are like overgrown raccoons. They behave the same way,” Graham said. “Don’t turn and run. Just like a dog, it might instill a desire to chase. Please give the bears space.”
To report a bear sighting to the Division of Wildlife, call 800-WILDLIFE.