Bears in the Air: Backyard Tree Overrun

By Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
02:58PM / Wednesday, May 13, 2009

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ADAMS, Mass. — There was a ruckus in the Martischnigs' back yard on Wednesday morning when a family of bears decided to take a nap in their maple tree.

A barking dog woke up William Martischnig around 1:30 a.m. "He barks at everything that's not supposed to be in the yard," said Martischnig on Wednesday, pointing to the empty kennel next to the garage. "He barks at skunks, at raccoons. That's what I thought it was."

But the dog kept barking, so Martischnig got up at 5:30 to see what was going on. It wasn't a skunk, and it wasn't a raccoon. It was a mama bear and four — yes, four — little cubs. Very little cubs.

The Martischnigs had a perfect view of the cubs from the second-story deck on their Quaker Street home.The cubs fell asleep in the big maple tree they planted 32 years ago; mama took up residence in the big birch behind the pool.

The dog was taken away to keep from annoying the bears, who spent the morning peacefully sleeping, ignoring the traffic and people in the densely populated neighborhood a stone's throw from the wooded slopes of Mount Greylock.

Martischnig and his wife, Pam, said they talked to police and the animal control officer, who both said there was little they could do. Just leave them alone, they advised.

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According to the state Division of Wildlife and Fisheries, black bears usually give birth in January to one to four cubs and emerge from their dens in mid-April. Young wildlife should be left alone and bears will send their young up a tree for safety. Attacks by black bears are rare: leave them alone, and they'll normally move off on their own. MassWildlife has information on living with black bears, including a downloadable booklet here.

Once the cubs woke shortly after noon, mama bear got down from her perch and tried to encourage them down from the tree. First one, then two, then three.

But No. 4 cub stubbornly refused to descend, instead scampering to a very high, very slim branch, and forlornly calling for his mom and siblings. When mama bear seemed to tire of the nonsense and headed for the treeline, the delinquent cub quickly dropped to the ground and scampered after his family.

Bottom photos taken by Linda Haas; see more on her Web site www.berkshirestudio.com.

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