What to do when a bear stalks your dad and tears up the pool toys

MILFORD — Christine Speller-Crisman, who lives at the Marcel Lake Estate Community, wrote to the Courier about an unwelcome, and frequent, guest at her house. Read her account below, followed by some tips from the game warden:
"I noticed in the local paper your asking viewers to send their bear photos in," she writes. "Actually I have a photo of a bear who followed my dad home from his daily hike in Marcel Lake on an actual foot path for hikers, but this bear kept 20 yards away from my dad as he walked a quarter mile. Ironically, my Dad, Gerald Speller, always carries a huge stick just in case he comes across any animals who may be a danger to him. Well, only five days ago he was with his huge walking branch, and this bear just didn't fear my Dad. He kept following him all the way home.
"My Dad said he first thought best to stand tall to scare the bear off, as he was so close to him. So that he did on his tippy toes, and the bear took off, slightly to his right. But a few seconds later, the bear was hot on his trail. When my dad returned he just yelled, 'Look outside and see what's followed me home!' Yes, it was this bear, and he left our dad alone to sip water at my son's paddling pool. Then he relaxed under our shady tree for quite a while.
"Since then he's been a daily visitor. My dad and mother both reported the incident immediately the time when the bear followed my dad home and the office at Marcel Lake kind of shrugged their shoulders saying 'ring the game warden of Pennsylvania for Pike County,' so I rang them immediately ,but the bear continues to visit our back yard daily. Yesterday he went into my six years old son's, James', paddling pool. I grabbed my cell and videoed what I could until my cell died. I have a short video of my son's pool and the bear firstly swimming and having a blast. Then he got into frenzy and grabbed my son's float, a huge green plastic alligator, and ripped it apart. Then he destroyed the pool but left a happy camper after enjoying a swim. Here is a photo of him on my son James' alligator float. Well the rest is history.
"Mind, a few days before he actually ruined our pool he had touched the alligator and fled up a tree, as the float scared the heck out of the bear. But not for long.
"We don't know who to contact as we do fear. Although he seems nice enough he is wild, yes, and could he be dangerous if children or people in general outdoors? He already has a tag in each ear so we are wondering if this bear was a juvenile delinquent and relocated to our community?
"We pray the game warden doesn't destroy that juvenile delinquent bear but pray they trap him and locate him way out into the wilderness."

Take it away

So we rang up William Williams, the game warden for the Northeast Region, who had some advice. In general, he said, whatever is attracting the nuisance bear should be removed from the property, at least temporarily. While food is by far the most common attraction for bears — whether it's in the garbage can or the bird feeder, or stuck to the grill — they also love water, especially when it's very hot. They'll cool off in lakes and pools. They'll even make a bear wallow out of a puddle.
Williams said he guesses that the bear in question is two years old, when their pregnant moms drive them off to make room for the new cubs. The young adult bears are forced to make their way in the world on their own, and this is when they are most likely to be troublesome to humans.
Williams said the tag does indicate that the bear is "known" to the game commission.
You can report menacing wildlife to the game commission in Dallas, Pa., at 570-675-1143 or 570-675-1144. The website (pgc.pa.gov) says: "Please keep in mind that our officers cover large expanses of land and necessarily prioritize their work load. Mother Nature is sometimes difficult to see in action."