Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: Regarding the bear situation, my concern is that nothing kills these bears. Did you ever see a roadkill bear, like a deer, raccoon, possum or squirrel? So, every year these mamas are producing one or two more cubs, so every year the population is increasing exponentially, as more reach the age to reproduce. What is the answer? Trap and export them? Feed them birth control pills maybe? How about capturing males and castrating them? Something’s got to be done soon as it continues to become a problem. I’m sure you will have a witty answer, John.
My answer: Generally speaking, when you toss the word “castration” at a male of any species, wit evaporates instantaneously. Such was the case here. I have also bought a stainless steel codpiece.
Real answer: My recent column about whether we’re heading toward bearmageddon spawned this query. As I noted, we have 8,000 to 9,000 black bears in western North Carolina, and Buncombe County typically accounts for about one-third of the state’s human-bear interaction reports annually…