Animalia: Honk honk! This bear must have been late for his cub scouts meeting.

On animals, people and the world they share

By Karin Brulliard

A 200-pound bear inside a car in Roanoke, Va. (Ryan McClanahan via WBDJ) Hello, and happy weekend. Also: Happy bear season. No, not bear hunting season, which usually happens in the fall. It’s now that time of year when bears and their cubs, and especially young male bears, begin roaming around after a long winter’s rest in search of food, territory and mates. This means more human-bear encounters, which don’t always end well. But bears that wander into the world of people — and that’s hard not to do, given how much of the land we occupy — can also provide some seriously amusing animal news. Remember the mother bear and five cubs that had a pool party in a New Jersey family’s backyard in 2015? If not, do watch some video of that incident. It’s mesmerizing, and the phrase “My floatie!” will be forever burned into your brain. This week, a young male bear in Roanoke, Va., gave us some good ursine drama. According to WBDJ-7, a couple there awoke early Thursday to the sound of a honking horn. And outside, they found the bear in the driver’s seat of their car. The windows were intact, so police surmised the animal had opened the door himself while searching for snacks and then gotten stuck. The brave authorities opened the door, and the bear headed for the hills. That incident came a few days after a black bear visited a backyard in Bradbury, Calif., and took a brief dip in the pool. Last weekend, a bear climbed onto a deck in Avon, Conn., stood on the railing and pounded against a locked sliding glass door that happened to lead to a kitchen where the homeowner was baking brownies. Can’t blame the bear for trying, but a neighbor later told a local television station that the experience was more “harrowing” than cute. And that’s just the start of bear season. Wildlife officials, by the way, stress that bear attacks are rare. Connecticut’s energy and environmental protection department says people in bear-land should make sure not to leave out attractants like garbage, bird feeders and dirty grills. They do not address the subject of brownies, but the Avon incident suggests that bakers might consider locking their doors for the next few months. Thanks, as always, for reading!

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