By Michael Letendre

Now, you saw Dave Fortier post an encounter with some bear cubs, jumping from the woods between Mix Street and Coventry Road, in TBE on Sunday.

Bear sightings are rare in town but it happens.

But the problem is, while the video is truly amazing, the Editor and Chief of TBE never said what to do when you encounter such a creature.

Knowing our boss at TBE, he was trying to find out what happened to his ‘pic-a-nic’ basket (it suddenly went missing from his Yugo in the driveway), tried to find the ranger (that guy has ZERO clue), and attempted to locate the bear’s sidekick Boo-Boo (he prefers Terryville).

Dave probably told the bears to ‘come into my backyard, eat my flowers and go through my garage can. Mary won’t mind…’

That is absolutely the wrong solution to the problem and by the time the bears left Dave’s property, the only thing remaining was an angry wife.

The bears were the clear winners of this example.

So, let’s breach another subject along those lines that I encountered on Sunday morning.

I took a snapshot of this animal down the street from Restaurant 99:

That’s a good old fashion fox.

And yes, they roam around the Forestville area of Bristol from time to time.

It’s not that uncommon, early in the morning, to see foxes passing by cars through the Stop & Shop parking lot, running through what’s left of the woods behind O’Brien Funeral Home or dancing around Crowley Kia (I’ve seen a male and female roaming around there at 5 a.m. one day, heading towards the Pequabuck River).

You’ve seen my picture and that fox, quickly, scampered under a garage after my brief encounter.

Now, here’s the deal with foxes in our town (and in general).

Those animals are afraid of us and leaving them alone is the best bet.

They love dwelling in little pockets and corners like underneath sheds, decks, or porches.

And they’ll come crawling out and flee if you make a little noise.

If a fox is on your property, there are some simple steps that will scare the wild creature away.

Bang a can filled with coins, slap some books together or even start yelling (please, no swearing).

How about blasting some bad sports talk radio?

Steven A. Smith or Skip Bayless will scare anyone from approaching your property ever again.

These creatures should be afraid of you and if they’re not, you have a bigger problem that Bristol’s Animal Control should be alerted to.

The animal control officers (ACO) in Bristol can be reached at the Animal Shelter. The phone number is (860) 584-3087.

And like all the geese in town, please don’t feed foxes because, as you can see with the geese at Pine Lake every…single… day, they’ll start hanging around.

Keep your garbage can lid closed and sealed at all times as well.

If you think you have one of those critters in your yard, leash you pets when you take them out or don’t let them out at all.

And don’t run after those animals, either.

You may see a fox in your yard only once and it probably won’t be back if you make it feel unwelcome right way.

There isn’t any reason to be afraid of foxes that might encroach upon your property.

However, unlike like Mr. Fortier’s mind-numbing example, don’t invite those wild animals into your house for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or dessert).

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