Trail cam catches bear strolling through backyard

April 14, 2016
At a recent meeting here in our Nashua, NH office, I sat across from my colleague Erin, waiting for our meeting to get started. I’m not quite sure how the conversation began, but Erin told me that she and her husband have encountered many different forms of wildlife in their backyard, including more recently, a bear. 

At a recent meeting here in our Nashua, NH office, I sat across from my colleague Erin, waiting for our meeting to get started. I’m not quite sure how the conversation began, but Erin told me that she and her husband have encountered many different forms of wildlife in their backyard, including more recently, a bear.

Erin told me that for five years, she and her husband suspected that a bear lived quite close to their Bedford, NH home after an old 4x4 that held a bird feeder in the yard was torn from its earthy base. A bear, they assumed (or perhaps just some really strong, really hungry birds.)

Erin’s suspicions were proven true, however, when last summer, she was gardening in the yard, and to her surprise, saw the bear casually walk past. (On two separate occasions, in fact.) After this, the couple decided they would install a trail cam to try to catch the bear on camera.

Thecamera used was a Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Aggressor Low-Glow model. The 14 MPixel camera features a 0.2 second trigger speed, and extended nighttime photo range via infrared LEDs that emit an IR flash to capture images in the dark.

In looking through some of the most recent photos captured by the trail cam, I see a herd of deer, a cat, a fawn, a fox, a raccoon, a skunk, and finally, a bear. At long last, the bear was briefly captured on video, which allowed Erin to prove to her husband that she wasn’t seeing things, and to vindicate those poor hungry birds.

Now that the bear has been found though, what’s next? Maybe Bushnell can develop a trail cam that yells at the bears, and shoos them away?

Readers:Has something similar ever happened to you? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

James Carroll

Former VSD Editor James Carroll joined the team 2013.  Carroll covered machine vision and imaging from numerous angles, including application stories, industry news, market updates, and new products. In addition to writing and editing articles, Carroll managed the Innovators Awards program and webcasts.

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