Big Ol’ Bear Caught on a Front Porch in East Greenbush!

Big Bear Caught on East Greenbush Porch

You think you’ve had a surprise visitor hanging around your home or backyard?

Check out what one East Greenbush resident found chillin' on their porch this week: a massive black bear casually checking out the bird feeder and giving the Blackstone grill a once-over.

Read More: New York State Creates 200 Jobs To Save Many Lives 

The photo was shared by someone choosing to be anonymous on the Steve Caporizzo Fan Club Facebook group, and the comments were bear-y entertaining.

• Brenda Ziegler: “Someone’s hungry!”
• Darlene Gillis Murphy: “Fire up the grill, poor baby is hungry.”
• Mary Mooney: “He’s been watching all those Blackstone recipe videos on TikTok — just wondering what’s for dinner?”
• Christine M. Harvey: “He needs 12–18,000 calories a day to fatten up for hibernation!”
• Anonymous witness: “He was very gentle with the bird feeder — just left about a half hour ago.”

"Poor Thing"

Others chimed in with a mix of awe and concern:

“Poor thing’s trying to bulk up for winter,” wrote Liz Ammian. “We’ve been so selfish, taking away their natural habitat.”

According to wildlife experts, this behavior is typical for late fall in Upstate New York. Bears are cramming in calories before hibernation, and a backyard buffet of seeds, suet, and leftovers can be hard to resist.

So, if you live anywhere near East Greenbush, you may want to double-check your trash cans and bird feeders —unless you want a surprise guest warming up by the grill.

Handling Human-Bear Conflicts

Avoiding human-bear conflicts begins with prevention and education. Here are some basic guidelines from the NYS DEC. 

• Never feed or approach bears.
• Secure food, garbage, and recycling
• Remove bird feeders when bears are active
• Never leave pet food outdoors
• Clean and store grills and smokers
• Alert neighbors to bear activity