Destructive Bear on The Loose in Central Maine

This morning I got a message from a friend who was driving through Oakland and literally almost hit a Maine black bear that was crossing the road. "It wasn't small either" he went on to say.

Well, I figured I would take a look through some local news outlets and see if there were reports pertaining to black bears in the area, and wouldn't you know it- there are! Now, there's no way to tell if the bear spotted in Oakland this morning is the same bear I'm about to reference in the news story, but maybe it is!

According to the Kennebec Journal there has been a bear roaming the western and central Maine areas for the last three weeks or so wreaking some serious havoc. This adult black bear has already killed eight goats between Franklin and Kennebec counties. Two other goats were mauled but have survived.

In addition to the goats, this Winnie The Pooh ass bear has destroyed three beehives. No word yet on whether or not he got his head stuck in the honey pot. Okay, I went off topic with a little cartoon humor, but I was serious about the beehives, those really did get destroyed.

According to the article, two bear traps have already been set in an attempt to capture and hopefully relocate this mischievous creature. The bear, if successfully captured, will be moved north, far away from any nearby livestock or beehives.

Even though we don't see then super-often, it's important to remember that this is Maine, there are far more black bears roaming around than we might think.

In a graphic from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, you can see some helpful tips and tricks to keep your one on one encounters with Maine's most cuddly mammal to a bare minimum. See what I did there? "Bare" minimum? ha!