Take a bear to lunch

What's going on here? Why are we having problems getting along with wild animals? In my last blog, I wrote about a moose that charged  a snowmobiler in Jackman, ME and a fox that tried to grab  a man's slipper  in Portsmouth.

Now, we have reports (Foster's Daily Democrat, 5/9/2014) of a young moose running loose on the football field at Somersworth High School. Maybe, it's not a matter of the animals disliking us. Maybe, now that we've moved into these animals' territories, they are just trying to become part of our world.

Perhaps, the young moose gamboling about the football field was just showing us his stuff so he could join the high school football team. Sounds outlandish? Consider this: A black bear ambled into a family's back yard in Bow, NH, to check out the bird feeder (WCTI, 05/08/14). Two bulldogs on the property broke down a farmer's fence and confronted the bear, who, seeing that he was unwelcome, loped away into the woods.

Now, wait a minute, the bear wasn't aggressive. He didn't attack the dogs. Perhaps, the bear had just dropped by for lunch as your friends sometimes do. He was just trying to be like us.

The next case really proves my point. An Associated Press story (05/10/14) reports a series of recent car break-ins in North Conway, NH. Resident Terry Leavitt said that the radio was pulled out of her dashboard, the interior was ripped apart, and a window was smashed. Now, get this:  wildlife officials believe that a bear was responsible.

Does that disprove my idea that wild animals are trying to act like human beings? Not at all. Criminals break into cars and steal things all the time. The bear was just doing the very same thing. He was acting like us.

So, let's re-interpret wild animals' behavior. Don't think of it as scary. Think of it as attempts to be your friend. Invite a moose over for dinner (but, for God's sake don't try to eat it). Take a bear to the movies. As a matter of fact, he might enjoy Disney's new feature-length, nature film "Bears" which is playing at local theaters right now.

So, let's be friends with wild animals. Didn't Goldilocks get along just fine with the three bears? Hmm. Not quite, as I think about it, but don't let that stop you.

If you want to read a book to a wild animal, may I suggest my book "Outtastatahs: Newcomers' Adventures in New Hampshire." It features the trials and tribulations of newcomers to this state. (Two out of three New Hampshire residents weren't born here.) "Outtastatahs"  (as in out-of-staters) can be purchased at River Run Bookstore in Portsmouth; the Galley Hatch Restaurant gift shop in Hampton; The Water Street Bookstore in Exeter; Gibson's Bookstore in Concord and on-line at barnesandnoble.com. Both paper and Kindle versions can be obtained at amazon.com.