Hillbilly wisdom: You cannot pet the bears. We have bears in the national forest now. They were transplanted from other areas starting in the 60’s. So, my friend and I are driving from Mountain Home through the forest. Actually, highway 341. Straight line from my home to Mountain Home is less than 15 miles. Around the road it is over 40. It’s Scenic. Arkansas paved the original trails used by the covered wagons. Back then you did not go up and over you went around and around the hills. We are driving along and a black bear is crossing the road. “Look”. Most of you don’t know who Yogi Bear and Boo Boo are. It’s a old person thing. Yogi bear and Boo Boo were cartoon characters in the middle of the last century. Yogi, the bigger one, wore a bow tie and a hat, was always getting into trouble because he liked picnic lunches and wasn’t against taking them away from the tourist in Yellow Stone Park. Boo Boo, his sidekick and buddy was a smaller version. The bear crossing the road was definitely not Boo Boo and it wasn’t wearing a necktie. This bear was homegrown and huge. 300 plus pounds. “Stop, get out and I’ll take your picture”.

“Dinner was not to your satisfaction? You get out. I’ll take your picture.” The point I’m trying to make is the bears we have now are not friendly and should be avoided.

I can honestly say bears were not a problem that concerned my parents. Never once did they tell me watch out for bears. Unlike Yogi, wild bears don’t wear hats. They do like snacks. And if you see one with a orange necktie it means the government is tracking it. It also means the bear is not afraid of you. It was relocated because it was a nuisance where it came from. Welcome to the Ozarks. Arkansas is a bear sanctuary state. It is for the tourist trade.

This weekend a bear attacked a person in Franklin county. The person needed medical attention. The attacker was under a 100 pounds but had to be put down and tested for disease. This was the first bear attack in 25 years. Bears don’t have a lot of natural enemies so there numbers have and will continue to increase. As the human population increases and the bear population increases there will be more encounters. Bears are 0-1 against humans but remember it was a little bear. Don’t pet the bears.