DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,317
- 5,990
Most farmers are appreciative when you take bears off their oat fields. The bears can be pretty destructive. I've counted as many as eleven bears on one field. A bear with lie down, and with their prehensile lips strip every grain off the stalks. They will literally clean the grain off of every stalk they can reach, and then roll to a point that they are able to begin again. The result is that where a bear has been feeding is virtually devoid of any grain and the stalks are flattened in a huge circle that is perhaps twelve to sixteen feet in diameter. The scat is simply grain formed into turds as they don't digest the grain efficiently. However, they do love oats and wheat. Barley seems to be less inviting, though they will eat barley. I watched a sow with two cubs one evening. The cubs were playing in the standing oats. However, the farmer had cut several swaths along the outer edge of the field and formed about four windrows of gain. The sow would lie on her stomach atop one of the windrows, eating every grain she could reach. Then, without standing, she wriggles forward to fresh grain and began again to feed. We watched her for over twenty minutes as she destroyed the windrow. Having said all that, the meat of these bears is great. The flavour is superb. It is dry, however, and must be kept moist as it is cooked.
