The "Smokey The Bear Is Lost Once Again" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sunny with a chance of reaching 95 degrees today.  And...if that's not enough, we have to watch out for a big black bear roaming the neighborhood.  A few days ago our daughter-in-law, Barbara, called to tell us that she had sighted a big black bear ini her neighborhood in Hempfield Township which is about a 15 minute drive from our home in Manheim Township.  She was leaving their dogs out in their backyard when she saw something unusual for the neighborhood.  A big black bear!  She managed to get the dogs back in the house before they saw the bear...or the bear saw them... and began calling everyone to tell them about the bear.  Well, wasn't long before we heard from another person about a black bear who was spotted near Lancaster's channel 8 station on the Columbia Pike which is a good 10 minutes from Barb's house.  So, the bear is on the move!  

A young black bear was seen in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Then we heard that the Pennsylvania Game Commission had placed a trap between the two sightings in hopes of capturing it and moving it to a safe place.  The newspaper later claimed that the bear was sighted near a Wells Fargo bank as well as Moe's and Friendly's at the Centerville Shopping Center.   Hey...the bear knows exactly where the food is located!  This is the biggest news we have had for quite a few days in Lancaster.  But, the last thing we need is for the bear to see a small child playing in one of the local neighborhoods.  Back in 2019, wildlife conservation officers spotted a black bear in the city of Lancaster.  It eventually captured it in the backyard of a home on West Chestnut Street in the city.  Where do these animals come from and how do they get the entire way across the city of Lancaster before someone catches them?  That particular bear was captured and released on State Game lands in Lebanon County.  I know that Lancaster County is known as the Garden Spot of America, but how do these bears find out about it.  Could someone have a pair of bears as pet in their backyard who mated and the cub escaped the back yard?  Someone will eventually catch the bear or perhaps it will find its own way to the State Game lands.  Everyone just has to hope that it doesn't grab a young child before it gets captured and released into the wild.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.