Agressive black bear incident this weekend

[Polaris]

Well, my "pet" blackie came back to the cabin again Friday evening. He was by a couple of weeks ago and a sharp shout was all that was needed to send him away. This time, it took 3 warning shots from a .357 at 25 yards, with the third nearly parting his hair. He's a younger male, about 150 lbs and appears healthy. We keep a very clean camp, and I had absolutely no "wet" food onsite at all this time, all canned or dry "flour" mixes. I really can't understand the brazenness this one is showing, almost seems territorial. No sign of his proximity to camp until people are present. I do have the blessing from the local CO to fire with intent if he comes around again, and butcher under a depredation tag if he's healthy, likely the same bear did take a calf from a local beef farmer about a mile away during the week. Anybody else have experience with non-food or cub related aggressiveness in black bears? I've spent a lot of time in the woods, and never seen such behavior not motivated by a perspective meal or cub protection.

 

[DrMike]

Sounds like a "teenager." He hasn't learned to be afraid of people. He needs to have some fear put in him.

 

[mjcmichigan]

What dr mike says. Neck roast is great!


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[Anonymous]

Yeah- sounds like a typical rowdy junior who hasn't learned people aren't to be trifled with. Either that, or the neighbors haven't been so clean in camp and he's learned to associate folks with food. It happens pretty easily.

Give him a snootful of bear spray and if he comes back...let the air out of him in good conscience.

 

[Guy Miner]

Yeah- sounds like a typical rowdy junior who hasn't learned people aren't to be trifled with. Either that, or the neighbors haven't been so clean in camp and he's learned to associate folks with food. It happens pretty easily.

Give him a snootful of bear spray and if he comes back...let the air out of him in good conscience.

Agree.

 

[gerry]

I read somewhere that younger males will get predatory more often than other bears that are older or females. I'm not 100 % sure on that but do know if he is causing trouble now it's not likely to get any better. I would be inclined to let him have it and make some nice sausage or ground meat from him.

 

[Thebear_78]

Somebody is feeding him. I’ve seen that behavior in bears than have been fed. They will get frustrated when they don’t get the expected meal.

Any black bear that doesn’t skedaddle when challenged will be s problem. If a warning shot doesn’t work the second should have put him down.

A 150 pound blackie should be walking around like a long tailed cat in a rockingchair showroom. Definitely not balsy enough to have a staring contest.

I kicked a 130-150 pound black bear in the hind end one time that was half in my trash can, yelling “get out of there Blue!”. Blue was a black lab/chow mix that lived up the road. We were both pretty surprised!




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[DrMike]

I kicked a 130-150 pound black bear in the hind end one time that was half in my trash can, yelling “get out of there Blue!”. Blue was a black lab/chow mix that lived up the road. We were both pretty surprised!

I'll bet you were both surprised! :mrgreen: You are likely correct in noting that someone has been feeding him. The normal young bear would be curious, though timid. A shout or a rock is normally enough to make them run. That he is wanting to stare down a human is indicative that he has already lost his fear of man.

 

[salmonchaser]

Yep, though I've found that a long blast on a whistle a little more effective than a warning shot. Pitch and duration I imagine.
Pepper spray works well in my mind.
But he is going to be a problem, until he becomes fearful.


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[salmonchaser]

Somebody is feeding him. I’ve seen that behavior in bears than have been fed. They will get frustrated when they don’t get the expected meal.

Any black bear that doesn’t skedaddle when challenged will be s problem. If a warning shot doesn’t work the second should have put him down.

A 150 pound blackie should be walking around like a long tailed cat in a rockingchair showroom. Definitely not balsy enough to have a staring contest.

I kicked a 130-150 pound black bear in the hind end one time that was half in my trash can, yelling “get out of there Blue!”. Blue was a black lab/chow mix that lived up the road. We were both pretty surprised!




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I'd pay good money to see that.


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[ethmoid1999]

It would have scared me! Of course never been near a bear.

 

[truck driver]

Since he is your pet have you considered putting a training collar on him? Works for dogs and maybe you can train him to be more obedient. LOL
Waste the sucker and solve the problem if he persist. JMO

 

[Blkram]

Grain fed bear is tasty!

I recommend 158 grains at a time out of your 357!

 

[salmonchaser]

Me too. Grizz get the attention but black bears kill more people. One that doesn't run when confronted is worthy of your undivided attention.
I don't put up with any foolishness on their part. They wander through a lot, as long as they keep going, we're good.
They start messing with boats or get too interested in the cabins I hit them with bean bag rounds. Knock on wood, that has solved our problems.
Dogs help as well, bears don't like them much. A chained dog however is an easy meal.
As noted, keeping things clean is critical. Amazing how many people don't get it. A half full beer can or Gatorade bottle that falls off the deck and ignored, is guaranteed bear bait.
Bears love Gatorade.


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[mjcmichigan]

......
Bears love Gatorade.


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This sounds like a story!

Any particular flavor?
Did you ever sweeten bait with it?

I’ve heard of soaking oats in beer...can’t say I’ve done that...


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[salmonchaser]

15 years ago, before we had built the road to the lodge, we were getting set up for the season. Packed four cases of Gatorade up from the river left them on the deck. Took off to town in the boats for another load. Returned a couple of hours later to a big Grizz running laps up and down the beach. Walked up to the lodge and discovered he had found the Gatorade, all but a couple of bottles. Damn bear ran up and down the river for a week.


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[Polaris]

Got word from the Conservation officer, my neighbor shot him when he came back looking for seconds of veal, so hopefully the problem is solved.

He was a healthy male, I underestimated the weight by a bit, he came in just under 200, and was a suspected livestock predator 5 miles away in the fall. Now they have a bigger problem over there, large sow with 2 cubs hitting calves and colts. The DNR in this state needs to get their heads out on our bear situation and liberalize the harvest a bit.

 

[Thebear_78]

That’s a great bear to remove from the neighborhood. A bear like that would be breaking into homes before you know it.

Yesterday my kids watched a young brownie tear apart grandpas deck fridge from 10 feet away thru the sliding glass door.

All that was in there was some cans of soda, bear, a few condiments and a plastic bag with two dead mice in it.

He had them in there waiting on trash day so they didn’t stink up the trash.

I’m betting he smelled the mice since they had never had a problem with the deck cooler before.


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[Polaris]

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreatio ... 7_bear.pdf A lot of tables and charts here. Pay attention to the last 3, which show according to computer modeling a decreasing bear population. Also look to the charts on permit availability and total harvest which showed a much higher number of licenses issued in the '90s with similar population estimates (under the old population modeling) with an escalating population and harvest through the early 2000s when the new population modeling was instituted. Since the new modeling, bear hunting permits have gone to record lows, and in the opinion of many who live in bear country, populations are nearing record highs in the real world. Seems instead of managing a valuable resource for hunting, our DNR is protecting cute, fuzzy bears.

 

[ethmoid1999]

Polaris, I think politicians and statisticians are as professions both suspect. They tend to state facts as they prefer to interpret them.