I hit a black bear with my car this morning.

[Danger Mouse]

I was driving to work this morning on Route 44, which is a major stretch of road, don't ya know? Anyway, there I was, minding my own business, when suddenly, A BLACK BEAR RAN OUT IN FRONT OF MY CAR.
Yes, one of these:


It was relatively small, probably a juvenile. I had only a split second to react. I slammed on the breaks, but I heard the dreadfull THUMP and say the bear haul ass in the opposite direction. I was in a complete whirl...confused, frightened, and amazed, I had never even SEEN a black bear in the wild, let along hit one with my car!
On closer inspection, the damage was minor. It turns out the bear had run head first into the side of the car. Fortunately for me AND the bear...a head on collision probably would've damaged the car and bear quite a bit more. A passing motorist commented that the bear seemed fine...so I felt better about that.
The insurance adjuster took it with a sense of humor, he'd never had a claim for a collision with a bear before, and I had to laugh, because it was kind of surreal.
A little bit later, I called the state police (there happens to be a trooper barrack in the vicinity, just down the road as a matter of fact). They weren't too interested in the bear, they just wanted to know if it was dead so they could remove it. As far as I knew, it wasn't, so that was it.
I still can't believe it happened. I count myself lucky. A black bear, even a small one, is a very solid and heavy animal, and the damage to my car could've been extreme, and of course, I don't want to kill a bear, either! I hope at least the bear learned not to run out onto a busy road! He's probably got a splitting headache, poor thing.
Anyway, that's my story.
Thought I'd share, bout my encounter with a bear.

[Bjornsdotter]

1. Good thing you are okay

..as you said, they are quite solid.

Cheers

[Danger Mouse]

13. i consider myself lucky.

:)

[fizzgig]

2. still the most bizarre phone call i've ever woken up to

i'm still trying to wrap my brain around it

i'm glad you're ok, though

[Danger Mouse]

4. hahaha, i took the record for most bizarre phone call?

w00t!
i think mom was utterly shocked as well.

[fizzgig]

7. it was an odd way to start my day

but i'm sure it was even more odd for you

[Danger Mouse]

10. surreal. absofuckinglutely surreal.

[ThomCat]

3. I hope the bear is okay.

Poor thing.

I'm glad you're okay and that insurance is going to take care of your car.

Wow.

[Danger Mouse]

5. yeah, it was probably frightened out of its wits...

it was just a kid...

[Danger Mouse]

6. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

:scared:
the bears...they're taking over!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6931439.stm

[KitchenWitch]

8. I am glad you did not get hurt

and sounds like the bear did not get too badly injured either. Cars can be fixed, bears and people are not as easy to fix.

:hug:



























and sorry for the copycat. :)

[Danger Mouse]

9. yeah, i would've felt terrible if i killed the bear...

thanks for the copycat... :P

[KitchenWitch]

11. ...

Thanks for understanding.

I have this serious need to blow off steam. In two days, I see the dermatologist to determine if I have skin cancer. That added to the fact that my home town just lost a bridge (and some people - thankfully my loved ones are safe) and I am a walking pressure cooker.

[Danger Mouse]

12. blow off all the steam you want...

:P
just don't mess with black bears. they're tough customers.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. "I hit a black bear with my car this morning."

Better than with your fist, or a rolled-up newspaper.

I wouldn't say this if either of you weren't okay. I hope all's well!

[ironflange]

15. I had a similar experience

A few years ago, east of Salmon Arm, BC, we're driving along when I see what I think is a big black dog in the ditch ahead, maybe 300 ft ahead. It starts across the highway, and I see it's a bear; it sees me coming, so instead of just trotting across the road, it decides it had better try to outrun me. I'm pulling a trailer, so can't exactly stop on a dime, and we get close enough to his ass to be able to see his little tail going boing boing boing. That's when he veers off to the right and off into the woods. I've seen plenty of bears but none quite that close.

[The Traveler]

16. Good thing

Steven Colbert hasn't heard about this ... he would totally freak. :)

Actually, this is a really weird experience ... like, wow, man. You hit a freakin' bear. Not everyone in the Lounge can say that ... "I hit a bear with my car and lived to tell the tale." That makes you really unique. I mean, how can anyone possibly top that?

[Bullwinkle925]

17. that's an amazing story . . .

i'm glad that you're both okay. i don't know which one of you to feel the sorriest for. holy toledo!

[krispos42]

18. So, then the bear actually hit you

Sue! Sue! Sue!

Not the bear of course. #1 rule of frivolous lawsuits: dont' sue poor people.

sue the National Parks Servie for failing to keep that dangerous wild animal under control!

[sarge43]

19. Jeez Elrond. Hellva way to start your day.

Thank goodness you're OK.

They're thick as fleas around here; not uncommon to look up and see one strolling up the driveway. However, first time I've heard of anyone having a close encounter of the not so good kind with one.

[China_cat]

20. If you're still worried about the bear

call the fish and game commission. They're the ones who would be concerned about wildlife.

Glad you're ok, though.

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. Good advice

[In_The_Wind]

22. Route 44 is loaded with wildlife.

I'm glad you didn't get hurt and the damage to your car was minor.
Hopefully the bear only had a headache.

[Danger Mouse]

39. ah, so you're a new yorker, too?

first time i ever saw a bear on 44, though!

[In_The_Wind]

40. Yes, I'm a bit north of you.

I don't see 'em very often these days but they used to destroy my bird feeders.
Woodstock and Bearsville have bear home invasions with bears raiding the refrigerator.

[Danger Mouse]

41. Bearsville! one of the kids I work with mentioned that the other day...

now I'll have to try and remember which one...

[In_The_Wind]

42. If you get up this way

try eating at the Gypsy Wolf. They make an excellent mango margarita and I've never been disappointed with their food.

[meegbear]

23. Oh No!

:cry:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. i am SO glad to hear you are ok

:hug:

[Danger Mouse]

38. thanks :)

your kind words are greatly appreciated.
:hug:
always means a lot, coming from you.

[NewWaveChick1981]

25. Glad to hear you're OK and that the bear survived!

:hug: You never know when stuff like that will happen. :pals: Take a deep breath now....:)

I had a close call with a huge deer once (a very large buck), and I was thankful that I missed it by a couple of inches. It darted out in front of me at twilight one night, and there would have been nothing I could have done to stop it. Luck was with me, though. :)

[soleft]

26. A raccoon hit me like that once

Of course, being smaller the raccoon didn't fare as well unfortunately. It really shakes you up. You may feel the emotional affects for a few days, so be gentle with yourself.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

27. And that's why they're #1 on the Threatdown.

[Deep13]

28. In the '80s I saw a buck in the woods with a big mark on its hind quarters.

This was while walking in the woods near the municipal landfill.

A short time later, my friend told me he was driving to the dump when a buck jumped in front of his car and trashed the front end. He said it was like hitting a wall. The buck, he said, just bounded away back into the woods.

[Hugin]

29. Sorry about the incident Elrond...

Glad everything is working out.

:/

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

30. Wow - glad you're okay!

Same goes for the bear, although your safety is paramount. This isn't something you hear every day!

[Wcross]

31. Wow, I'm glad he appeared to be ok.

I have hit a couple of cows in the past, never a bear though! The neighbor down the road has some really bad fences and his cows are always in the road. I know enough to take it slow through that stretch but when one of the black cows gets out it is really hard to see them at night.

[BarenakedLady]

32. Yikes!

I'm glad that you and the bear are ok.

:hug:

[Danger Mouse]

37. thank you, hun.

:hug:

[Deja Q]

33. I wish I'd read this before copycatting that other copycat to this...

:pals:

I am glad you're okay, the car isn't badly damaged, and the bear is safe too.

[CottonBear]

34. Oh my! I'm glad you're OK. I hope the bear is OK.

I live in NE GA . Last year, someone hit (and killed) a juvenile black bear on I-85 South going into Atlanta from the Gwinnett County suburbs. :scared:

We have a lot of bears migrating from the NE GA mountains to the NE GA piedmont area suburbs.

A number of years ago, a deer destroyed the driver's side of my Corolla and blew out all of the windows on the driver's side. I was going about 55 MPH, it was 5:30 pm in late December. Glass exploded into the car and totally covered me (and went into my clothes.) I never saw the deer, I didn't brake, swerve or hear anything. All of a sudden, the driver's side windows just exploded. Later, I found deer fur and hide in what was left of the window frame of the window behind me. Apparently, the deer came up out of a ditch and hit the side of my car and impacted along the side from front to back.

I never saw the deer. It freaked me out. I thought a bird had flown into the side of the car. (We have large vultures, geese and buzzards around here.)

Take care and I hope you and your car will be OK. :hug:

[Sequoia]

35. Glad you both are okay.

That could've been so serious.

Here's an interesting story about the woman who wrote Seabiscuit and her car accident with a deer. Pretty long.


http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/Hillenbrand.html

[Danger Mouse]

36. Everyone...thanks so much for your kind words and concern...

:hug:
you're really a great bunch of people.
thanks so much :)