Having grown up in the suburbs of Southern California and raising our children in the suburbs of Northern California, spotting random wildlife during our daily routine was not a common occurrence for us. In Southern California, the only animals I ever encountered were cats, dogs, and occasionally birds; we didn’t even have squirrels climbing the backyard fences. In Northern California, we did see squirrels, and occasionally birds such as geese, herons, and wild turkeys, but nothing more exotic than that.

We were advised ahead of time that western Massachusetts would be different. The hills contain a diversity of wildlife. As noted in my previous post, we certainly experienced that diversity, seeing porcupines, beavers, snakes and more, all either on our property or within a short walk.

We were told a couple of times that bears are among that diversity here. We were also told that these are not like bears in some other areas, i.e., they are not large nor aggressive toward humans. As we spoke more with locals, we learned that bear sightings are fairly common. While I did not want an “encounter” with a bear, I was interested in spotting one. Spotting a bear somehow seems more exotic to me than many other animals one might come across.

I’m happy to report that we finally did spot a bear! We were driving on one of the local roads a mile or two from the house and a bear ran across the road about 50 yards ahead of us. The bear was larger than I expected, and it was running surprisingly fast. After seeing it I was very happy to not have encountered it while hiking through the woods!

I wasn’t able to snap a photo, so you’ll have to take my word for it. It was an exciting moment!