http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...p;u=/ap/20031111/ap_on_fe_st/burned_bear

Around here bear are a common occurrence. Garbage cans and bird feeders are the main attractions. Some stupid people even feed them. Then they get angry when they come home to a mama bear in their kitchen. It HAS happened.
One of the odd things you see is claw marks and deep gouges in power poles with transformers. Story is the bear think the humming and vibration are insects in the very round "tree". They claw away at it to get at the bugs or possibly honey.
It's cool to see all the bear hair caught in the splinters of the pole.

A homeowner was prosecuted here in NJ for shooting a bear that had been pounding on his door.

I was talking with a fellow who does tree work, and he quoted some "old timers" who feel that squirrels have evolved such that they are no longer afraid--they'll sit there holding their own whereas 25 years ago they would get up and run.

Seems the "urban sprawl" is having some effects on "mother nature."

ThinkGood,
I've even seen a programme on TV about people being attacked by errant Squirrels.
Before I saw that show, I thought that squirrels were rather friendly critters.
An animal that you have to pull his teeth out of your leg, aint that friendly, after all.