Last night–between 01:30 and 02:00, I caught a few sounds I’m not used to. The night was too quiet for my comfort, but I could allow for it with so much recent rain and mild temperatures. Then as storms moved in, still perhaps one hour out, the air became less still. I was facing south but turned to look west because I sensed something nearby, something that could be dangerous. As my breathing became rapid, I forced myself to pay attention.

The breeze shifted, for just a moment, and I caught a heavy, musky scent. It was out of place.

I thought I knew what it was, but wasn’t sure. Now I am.

The rain this morning limited what I could see, but in the afternoon I stopped short on one of the many foot paths Columbia is known for. This one being between King’s Contrivance and Dickinson.

Bear tracks. No detail because of rain, and a few seemed older, but it was unmistakable: a black bear, a hefty one. Could stand 8, 9 feet tall, but very heavy.

As for the scent I caught in the dark hours, the musk indicates a male in mating season. Usually bearing a pleasant scent like vegetables or damp, mown grass, a male will musk, then mark trees by rubbing head or neck against the bark.

This specimen is ready to mate. But that doesn’t mean that there is a female in the area.

Bear usually range the Appalachian mountains down to the foothills in Frederick County, but last month one was spied in Ellicott City, while sightings in Carroll County near the Howard County line have also been reported.

If a male is this far south and east, and I suspect he’s been here for some time, that means he’s found plenty of game, and there is fresh water in the Middle Patuxent River and the Little Patuxent River. And he was right between them. Both have small fish, and sweet water to drink.

But black bear also love big game, and since winter, the local deer have thinned significantly in number. This could be due to poaching, which I know does happen here, but all of the adults have vanished. The juvenile deer that travel together are does; males at that age typically go solo and don’t appear until the rut.

But in the 8 years I’ve lived here, I’ve only seen one full-grown buck with a rack. They’re usually hard to spot.

With the herd thinning so rapidly, it makes sense that a large predator is nearby.

I tracked the animal, but not very far. The ground is saturated and the rains are washing clues away or pooling and dissolving them.

I should have been able to find spoor from such a large animal, but I didn’t. Rain can mess that up, too, but I saw nothing. It means I need to go into the woods to get to ground protected by the overhead foliage.

You do not need to be afraid of black bear; typically they’re eager to avoid people and definitely don’t want to attack, so do nothing to provoke one. Most incidents occur when one is surprised at close range or it is a female with cubs. Give them time to move away, leave the area yourself, and report your encounter.

Here is a link to facts and advice on what to do in Maryland should you see or want to prepare yourself before taking that summer hike.