The black bear may be smelling something from the compost pile, as that's the direction his nose is facing in this photograph. Sometimes in the afternoon yesterday, after we last saw the bear here, I added a box of compostable materials to the compost heap. To get to the compost pile from this clearing by animal trail, the bear would enter the trail that goes into the tree line in the direction that the camera is facing. The trail then turns slightly to the right to go by the compost pile, less than a quarter mile away, then turns slightly left again to reach the seasonal road that goes through Petra, Maine. Bears have an excellent sense of smell and can smell food up to a half mile away, and be able to home in on it.