We went for a jog a couple of days ago and chose a long, gravel road paralleling the mountains. It was all going fairly well, especialy since I (Sheri) am only a reluctant runner. I was getting ready to turn back but Michiel suggested we go a little further, just to see what was beyond the bend in the road. Curiosity works well in motivating me, so I agreed. We saw a black "critter" ahead on the side of the road. It's long ears made me think it was a dog, butI didn't discount the other voice in my head and Michiel's, which said, "I think that's a bear."
We jogged a little further, the sweat blurring my vision of the furry thing about 3 bus lengths ahead. Surprisingly, the dog we were jogging with made no sign of realizing that there was something there and he normally barks at everything. As we watched the way the furry thing moved, we both (Michiel and I) knew that that it wasn't a dog. It was slowly walking towards us but hadn't caught our scent, yet (they don't have good vision - but DO have excellent smell). Suddenly, it stood on it's hind legs as if it heard us. It stopped, raised its ears and looked around, but then continued foraging in the brush along the road and continued walking towards us.
At that point, we started walking slowly backwards - keeping an eye on the black bear. When we were sure that it was busy in the brush, we headed home - occasionally turning back to make sure we weren't being followed.
2 comments:
Beary scary! Michiel, train that dog! Or at least let it run in front of you?
I am trying to train it, but it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It will listen (sort of) when it is on the leash and you pull really hard at it.
michiel
Post a Comment