Children and their caregivers can get out of the house for a neighborhood walk (or drive) to hunt for bears, at least those of the plush variety.
Taking inspiration from the 1989 children’s book, “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury neighborhoods across the state, and country, have put together window walks as a source of entertainment in this time of social distancing.
The story tells of a bear hunting group who “aren’t scared” and must make their way through tall grass, a wide river, dirty mud and more obstacles when they finally get to a dark cave.
Houses put plush teddy bears (or other stuffed animals) in the window or outside. If they don’t have stuffed animals, there are also printouts available of bear faces and paw prints from several websites, including the New Hampshire Bear Hunt group on Facebook.
Children can scope out the bears and other critters while taking walks. All they have to do is see how many they can find.
In this Insider’s neighborhood, there are at least 13 on one street. We’ve also heard the South End of Concord is a good hunting ground for those bears.
You can play on your own, by keeping tally from different walks. On the public New Hampshire Bear Hunt group on Facebook people have shared pictures of the bears they’ve found.
Bear hunters should remember not to trespass, not to touch bears and to keep a safe distant from others. The page has collected a list of streets/neighborhoods where bears have been spotted.
