re: #45 William Lewis

I’ve been seeing a lot of them here in Wisconsin. There were a sow and three cubs alongside Hwy 63 about 20 miles southwest of Hayward last Sunday driving back from my visit with my son. Then on Wednesday, I saw one crossing a cranberry marsh just outside a bunch of summer houses. My ex-MiL would not be amused.

I wonder if conditions are good for them right now or if it’s simply there is no competition for that level of omnivore in the local environment? It would help if the hunting numbers were higher as that’s just about the only thing other than cars and semi’s keeping the numbers even slightly down.

Bears are apex predators, there’s nothing that really keeps them in check besides us. American black bears, in particular, are a fairly numerous species and could probably do with some additional control.