GREAT FALLS — Seven bears showed up on camera near Diane Collins’ home a few miles southeast of Pendroy, a small community in north-central Montana. The next morning, she said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks found 10 in nearby brush.
(WATCH: Seven bears caught on camera in Montana, 10 found the next morning)
She explained it started late at night when her dog would not stop barking. Her husband went outside to check, thinking it could be a coyote, skunk or maybe just one bear.
“We were just getting ready for bed and the dog was just having a fit,” Collins said. “He happened to look a little bit further from the door past some trees and there was the bears right in the yard.”
She says seeing bears in the area is not unusual, but seeing that many together was a surprise.
“So there was seven. And then in the morning, they were in some brush about a quarter of a mile from our house,” Collins said. “And they got 10 out of the brush.”
While the bears did not come toward them, she says, they also did not seem in a hurry to leave.
“They really didn’t run or they weren’t scared of us at all,” Collins said.
With sheep on the property, Collins said the close call felt even more real. She had already been locking her sheep in the barn at night because she knew bears and other predators were moving through the area. Now, she is building an electric fence to help protect them.
Montana FWP says securing attractants on farms and ranches can reduce the chances of conflict with bears and help protect people and property. The agency recommends not leaving out pet food or livestock feed, cleaning up grain spills and using electric fencing around vulnerable animals and areas where bears may find food.
Collins said the video may be fun to watch from a distance, but it is also a safety reminder for people who live or work in bear country.
“There’s a safety risk for everybody that has to work out in the field,” Collins said. “That’s the big safety of the people is what I worry about.”
Her advice is simple: pay attention to your surroundings.
“When they’re laying there sleeping, they can lay so flat that it’s really hard to see them,” Collins said.
For Collins, the video is a reminder that being bear aware does not just matter on the trail. Sometimes, it matters right outside your door.
