Post by Ace on Jun 14, 2006 14:45:06 GMT -5
NJ Star-Ledger Staff: Bear's out on a limb, fleeing a clawless kitty
Cat proves size doesn't always matter in his neck of the woods
Friday, June 09, 2006
BY PAOLA LORIGGIO
Star-Ledger Staff
To his neighbors, he's a loner, a sometimes-friendly, sometimes- surly senior who spends his days wandering through the woods. He is particular about his yard. Strang ers are not always welcomed.
But last week, Jack the cat be came a hero when he chased a black bear out of his neighbors' yard and up a tree.
Twice.
Last Sunday afternoon Suzanne Giovanetti was reading at the kitchen table when her husband Dean cried out from the TV room at the back of the house: A black bear had just scurried up a tree on the edge of the couple's backyard in Shady Lake, a private community at the base of West Milford.
Though experts consider West Milford one of the state's most bear-populated areas, Giovanetti sees only one or two of them each year, she said. Within minutes, the 47-year-old graphic artist was up on the second-floor balcony overlooking the yard, camera in hand. She was about 30 feet away from the bear and almost eye-level with it.
That's when she noticed the cat stationed under the tree, sentry- like.
"I thought, 'Aww, look at the little kitty looking at the bear,'" Giovanetti said. But as Giovanetti watched on, she saw the bear cast frequent, worried glances down at the cat, a 10-year-old orange-and- white tabby named Jack. The bear seemed scared.
The bear "hung out uncomfortably in the tree" for 10 to 15 minutes, eyeing the cat who was eyeing him, Giovanetti said. It then inched halfway down the tree, paused, quickly jumped off and ran "like a bolt," with Jack on his tail.
"I think the cat was hissing at the bear as it came down the tree," Giovanetti said.
Jack's owner Donna Dickey, 48, who lives two doors down from Giovanetti, walked out on her back porch to photograph the bear when she heard her neighbor yelling from the balcony.
"I panicked when I heard Suzanne yelling about Jack," Dickey said. "I thought, 'Oh, my God, the bear's gonna get him!'"
Not quite. Jack chased the bear into the brush and up another tree about 15 feet away. He then stood watch for a few minutes before Dickey, who had run to Giovanet ti's porch, called him to her. The cat sauntered back toward the group, "rubbing up against everyone," Dickey said.
As soon as Jack was gone, the bear climbed down from his perch and ambled off into the woods.
Two other neighbors, whose house and yard are in between Dickey's and Giovanetti's, also witnessed the event.
Jack, who got a hero's welcome of food and a prime spot on the ot toman, is known for his hunting abilities. Though he has no front claws and spent most of his life as an indoor cat, Jack chases squir rels, chipmunks, rabbits and birds out of Giovanetti's yard, which connects to Dickey's, the artist said. Dickey said the cat, who weighs about 15 pounds and has "a floppy belly," also keeps his home mouse- free.
Neither woman knew if Jack had chased bears before; neither ruled it out.
"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey added. She said the cat hardly strays beyond the three connecting yards, which he considers his territory. "We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear."
Bears are serious business in West Milford, which is bordered by two state study areas where bear biologists last year counted more than 1,600 bears. The township is also the headquarters of the Bear Education and Research group, an organization of animal rights activists, four of whom were arrested last December for obstructing a state-sanctioned bear hunt.
This isn't the first time a bear has been chased away by a small pet. Bear expert Lynn Rogers, who works for the nonprofit Wildlife Research Institute in Minnesota, has shown two pictures of a cat stalking and charging a bear in his educational slideshow for years, said Sue Mansfield, a graduate student working for Rogers. Bears' lives are "ruled by fear and food, in that order," Mansfield said, quoting Rogers. "It doesn't take much to scare them sometimes," she added.
Dickey believes that Jack mistook the bear for her barrel- chested chocolate Labrador retriever, Cocoa, and chased it as a game, she said.
Though Jack plays in her yard almost every day, Giovanetti said that she and the cat never fully bonded. Some days, she said, Jack is very friendly; other times, he's aloof. "Sometimes, I fear him," Gio vanetti said, half-joking. "Now, I think I fear him more."
=============
Daily Mail:
The fur didn't fly when this bear was confronted by a cat - but it certainly executed a rapid ascent.
Making light of its 15 stone, the young black bear shinned more than 50 feet up the nearest tree when the ginger tom - a mere 15lb - took exception to its presence.
The bear lost its bottle after wandering into the back garden of Jack the cat's owner in West Milford, New Jersey, on an early-morning stroll in the nearby woods.
Hissing and spitting, Jack soon made it jump - and there it stayed for about 15 minutes after which, sensing the coast was clear, it tentatively came down - only to be cornered by Jack again and chased up another tree.
Neighbour Suzanne Giovanetti, who took these amazing photographs, said it was obvious the bear was petrified by the ten-year-old pet.
She alerted Jack's owner, Donna Dickey, who called Jack back into the house. The bear then fled back into the safety of the woods.
Donna said Jack often chased other animals, adding: "It's obvious he doesn't want anybody else in his yard."
West Milford is among New Jersey's most bear-populated areas. It won't remain so if Jack has his way.
Cat proves size doesn't always matter in his neck of the woods
Friday, June 09, 2006
BY PAOLA LORIGGIO
Star-Ledger Staff
To his neighbors, he's a loner, a sometimes-friendly, sometimes- surly senior who spends his days wandering through the woods. He is particular about his yard. Strang ers are not always welcomed.
But last week, Jack the cat be came a hero when he chased a black bear out of his neighbors' yard and up a tree.
Twice.
Last Sunday afternoon Suzanne Giovanetti was reading at the kitchen table when her husband Dean cried out from the TV room at the back of the house: A black bear had just scurried up a tree on the edge of the couple's backyard in Shady Lake, a private community at the base of West Milford.
Though experts consider West Milford one of the state's most bear-populated areas, Giovanetti sees only one or two of them each year, she said. Within minutes, the 47-year-old graphic artist was up on the second-floor balcony overlooking the yard, camera in hand. She was about 30 feet away from the bear and almost eye-level with it.
That's when she noticed the cat stationed under the tree, sentry- like.
"I thought, 'Aww, look at the little kitty looking at the bear,'" Giovanetti said. But as Giovanetti watched on, she saw the bear cast frequent, worried glances down at the cat, a 10-year-old orange-and- white tabby named Jack. The bear seemed scared.
The bear "hung out uncomfortably in the tree" for 10 to 15 minutes, eyeing the cat who was eyeing him, Giovanetti said. It then inched halfway down the tree, paused, quickly jumped off and ran "like a bolt," with Jack on his tail.
"I think the cat was hissing at the bear as it came down the tree," Giovanetti said.
Jack's owner Donna Dickey, 48, who lives two doors down from Giovanetti, walked out on her back porch to photograph the bear when she heard her neighbor yelling from the balcony.
"I panicked when I heard Suzanne yelling about Jack," Dickey said. "I thought, 'Oh, my God, the bear's gonna get him!'"
Not quite. Jack chased the bear into the brush and up another tree about 15 feet away. He then stood watch for a few minutes before Dickey, who had run to Giovanet ti's porch, called him to her. The cat sauntered back toward the group, "rubbing up against everyone," Dickey said.
As soon as Jack was gone, the bear climbed down from his perch and ambled off into the woods.
Two other neighbors, whose house and yard are in between Dickey's and Giovanetti's, also witnessed the event.
Jack, who got a hero's welcome of food and a prime spot on the ot toman, is known for his hunting abilities. Though he has no front claws and spent most of his life as an indoor cat, Jack chases squir rels, chipmunks, rabbits and birds out of Giovanetti's yard, which connects to Dickey's, the artist said. Dickey said the cat, who weighs about 15 pounds and has "a floppy belly," also keeps his home mouse- free.
Neither woman knew if Jack had chased bears before; neither ruled it out.
"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey added. She said the cat hardly strays beyond the three connecting yards, which he considers his territory. "We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear."
Bears are serious business in West Milford, which is bordered by two state study areas where bear biologists last year counted more than 1,600 bears. The township is also the headquarters of the Bear Education and Research group, an organization of animal rights activists, four of whom were arrested last December for obstructing a state-sanctioned bear hunt.
This isn't the first time a bear has been chased away by a small pet. Bear expert Lynn Rogers, who works for the nonprofit Wildlife Research Institute in Minnesota, has shown two pictures of a cat stalking and charging a bear in his educational slideshow for years, said Sue Mansfield, a graduate student working for Rogers. Bears' lives are "ruled by fear and food, in that order," Mansfield said, quoting Rogers. "It doesn't take much to scare them sometimes," she added.
Dickey believes that Jack mistook the bear for her barrel- chested chocolate Labrador retriever, Cocoa, and chased it as a game, she said.
Though Jack plays in her yard almost every day, Giovanetti said that she and the cat never fully bonded. Some days, she said, Jack is very friendly; other times, he's aloof. "Sometimes, I fear him," Gio vanetti said, half-joking. "Now, I think I fear him more."
=============
Daily Mail:
The fur didn't fly when this bear was confronted by a cat - but it certainly executed a rapid ascent.
Making light of its 15 stone, the young black bear shinned more than 50 feet up the nearest tree when the ginger tom - a mere 15lb - took exception to its presence.
The bear lost its bottle after wandering into the back garden of Jack the cat's owner in West Milford, New Jersey, on an early-morning stroll in the nearby woods.
Hissing and spitting, Jack soon made it jump - and there it stayed for about 15 minutes after which, sensing the coast was clear, it tentatively came down - only to be cornered by Jack again and chased up another tree.
Neighbour Suzanne Giovanetti, who took these amazing photographs, said it was obvious the bear was petrified by the ten-year-old pet.
She alerted Jack's owner, Donna Dickey, who called Jack back into the house. The bear then fled back into the safety of the woods.
Donna said Jack often chased other animals, adding: "It's obvious he doesn't want anybody else in his yard."
West Milford is among New Jersey's most bear-populated areas. It won't remain so if Jack has his way.