Chelmsford, MA, 10/15/18 - In the small hours of the morning our local seed bank was robbed. The robber made off with an undisclosed large amount of seeds. Early morning customers, wanting to make withdrawals, were turned away as bank officials assessed the loss. In an unusual turn of events, however, the robber did leave a large deposit which is being evaluated as to its usability. The bank has a minimum of security as this was the first time in over 40 years that it was robbed. Bank representatives indicated that a new vault would be needed as the old one was rendered unusable by the thief. The inside story: It is the season, locally, for robberies as the wildlife prepares for winter. Large black furry creatures roam the countryside in search of a free meal. Apparently it was our turn to be featured on the restaurant tour. Evidence was an empty feeder and a very large lump of scat. The perpetrator was alleged to be a black bear. The feeder, while large, is inexpensive and discontinued by the manufacturer. It is now featured at a local store in the discount aisle. I will purchase 2 more. In the near term, the feeder will be taken in at night till the hibernation period has concluded. Now, how to take advantage of the most unusual quantity of bear scat. It is probably not high on the list of excreted fertilizer but the opportunity is there. And I have lots of seeds Springtime experiment #2019-001 is in the book. Hurry up springtime!! Jerry
Are you sure it was a bear Jerry? Maybe it was another perpetrator who left some bear scat collected elsewhere to frame the bear?
Yeh I think you've hit the nail on the head Frank. Probably racoons as I've heard they'll do anything to blame others for their thievery.
Raccoons would have had to use a wheelbarrow to haul the s**t and I did not see tire tracks. They would also need a ladder to get to the feeder as they are not tall enough. The ladder is locked up in the tool shed. Raccoon co-operation is at a minimum, they scream and yell at each other except during mating season. The pile is half the size of a small raccoon. Definitely bear. Of course I don't know what Sasquatch scat looks like. Hmmm...eastern Sasquatch?? Jerry
Well I must say I've just sat here and had a good laugh at the comments and Frank boosted it with the pic...sorry Jerry for what's happened but it's made my night with the comments
Jerry, East Texas has an annual Sasquatch festival. You might want to contact an "authority" in East Texas and ask if you could have a photo of Sas's scat to compare. If it isn't a bear, and is a Sasquatch, you could sell tickets, set up tents for vendors, and the local churches could make money selling lunches and cookies. Just an idea . . . .
Update: I purchased two new seed feeders today. Half price since they were on clearance. As for the bear scat: Bear scat is bear scat, that's the short story. The longer story begins last summer with my wife saying as I made out the grocery list, "Would you please pick up some Italian bread?" O.K. it's on the list, I proceeded out the door. At the store, since it was late in the day, the bakery at the grocery store was out of Italian bread. I looked for something interesting and settled for some sesame seed bread. We used some that week and the rest made it into the freezer. There it stayed and stayed, and stayed finding its way to the back where it was forgotten. Last week it was 'found' and donated to the bluejays. they usually make quick work of any in the back yard.....unless it happens to be late in the day. The next morning the bread was gone. Bread the next day in similar fashion. No more thought was given till I looked at the scat.....sesame seeds, lots of them. Mental note to self- no more bread for the birds late at night. Jerry P.S. The feeders are taken in at night till the bear hibernates. Whenever that is. P.S.S. It looks like experiment #2019-001 is a non starter because the scat is gone. ??? Animals eat scat? The large pile is almost gone, if you didn't know it was there you would walk right by the location.
