A typical day surveying vegetation for the Deer-Forest Study, that morning we were down Bull Hollow in Bald Eagle State Forest. On the steep side of a ridge, I was finishing up the repair of a deer exclusion fence and Danielle was heading back to plot-center. Suddenly from about 200 feet away I heard, “oh my god, Mike, something got my lunch!” I made haste towards Danielle to survey the scene. In the span of an hour, my colleague’s lunch box was destroyed and the contents went missing. Based on the evidence, large puncture marks and excessive use of force, we theorized that the perpetrator was a black bear.
After the commotion, we decided to take a break and have lunch. Well, I shared my lunch so my friend wouldn’t starve all afternoon. We laughed at our misfortune; certainly this was a brazen deed but surely the bear is long gone. Jokingly, I waved my salami sandwich in the air to entice the bear. “Hey bear, you forgot one,” I yelled. “Why don’t you come back for seconds,” I taunted. We finished our lunch and laughter and got back to work.
Our next survey site was located up slope, through some dense mountain laurel. Danielle stood at plot-center to shoot me an azimuth. Before heading out, I jested that maybe I would bump into the bear. She didn’t find that funny. As I navigated to the next survey site, I saw a black mass not 60 yards from me. I called back to Danielle, “No Joke, I see the bear!” At first I thought I could get a great photo; then the 300 pound black bear turned towards my direction and locked eyes with me. Then closer, it sat and stared. My colleague and I didn’t feel like socializing with the bear so we left and decided to return another day.