This is the problem I have with humans, is they are so incredibly ignornant when it comes to black bears, they see one and automatically think it's vicious. Listen up and listen good: Black bears are not aggressive creatures and they tend to avoid humans at the first sight, they usually will run up a tree when they even hear a sound, hell my friend's cat managed to scare one way. Now of course there is a risk with Bears (like any other animal), they will attack when they feel your a threat to their young or food source but this comes down to using smarts. For instance, make sure if you barbeque clean up the grill after and don't leave any food outside, any garbage bins put them inside a garage or shed, birdfeeders make sure are emptied at the end of the day etc. If you see a bear, don't run because that's when they will think your its prey... instead make yourself big and make noise 9/10 a bear will turn the other way and run.
I actually don't think those are animal scratches of any kind. Damage like that requires some pretty decent strength and the marks would be more uniform, closer together and there would be five of them. Those look like someone had a jack knife was really bored or thought they were being funny.
My neighborhood is in a wooded area in Maryland and I recently found that the clubhouse on top of our swingset has been chewed/scratched up in numerous places. I also found these deep scratch marks on the lower portion of the swingset. I sprayed Ropel everywhere on the wood however the continues to be more and more damage. We are not in an area that frequently has bear encounters, however there were sightings of a black bear around this time last year in my neighborhood. We have various other animals frequently though. Could these markings be from any animal besides a bear? The thought of a black bear in my backyard absolutely terrifies me!
