We was out and about by 7:00am and could hear the bear when we got out of the truck. Very exciting!! We went in to discover a real nice bear just behind the bait site held by the cable snare. Cable snares are a very humane way of trapping as there are no punctures, no broken bones or blood. In fact, bears can be released from cable traps unharmed if tranquilized. When I first looked at this bear I thought it to be an old sow as it was extremely light colored in the face; up above the eyes, under the chin and down the neck. However it turned out to be a 4-5 year old boar with a unique facial pattern. This in itself is a very interesting fact. We have had a sow in the area that we have been very aware of for several years. We have seen her, watched her and taken pictures. She has produced 2-3 cubs each time she has been bred and we know of 3 sets of cubs and she was seen this year with triplets which will be cast out on their own this fall. She is probably bred and will have new cubs this coming Spring. She has this same facial pattern and looks almost gray in her face now. She most likely brought this bear to this bait to feed when he was young, and bears being habitual creatures, he continued to feed on the bait. These kinds of markings are genetic as are the unique white Vs often seen on a bears chest. We have one area where we have taken 6 bears with white Vs, one being an old sow that biologists estimated to have been between 27-30 years old. I was told that sows often live to be that old as they do not fight like the boars over territory and breeding rights. We have in fact had 2 old sows taken that were of that age. So it is quite plausible that the old sow had a lot to do with passing on the white markings.
Big E's bear weighed in at 225 with an empty stomach. Had this bear fed before being caught he would have weighed up to 250-260 pounds and by his body structure the weight was deceiving at first. Big E guessed 250, Jeremy guessed 210 and I had it right on the mark with 225!!! We have got very good at judging bears weight and size over the many years we have been hunting. I will be attempting to trap the next bear and will once again target the big bear I have seen; the same one that I watched cleanly missed by a young lady archer and once again by a lady rifle hunter a week later. That bear then became completely nocturnal and odds are good that it will remain that way. Once a bear becomes nocturnal, it is extremely hard to turn the pattern. Of course big bears don't get big by being careless. We tried new scents, fresh bait and even honey burns during baiting season in an effort to bring him out, without any success. Therefore the only way this bear will be harvested is by trapping. I only have a couple weeks left to attempt this feat before trapping season on bear is over. Nick Cote will be trying to trap a bear on the weekends when he comes home from college, so we are feeding a couple sites to prepare for him. The game cameras are a help as they show us not only the bear, but which way they come in, time and which way they exit. Of course this is not a given, but it helps our odds to understand the habit of the creature.
I absolutely love to watch and study these beautiful animals. Watching generations of animals is extremely fascinating and teaches so much more than just being a bear, beaver or whatever critter it may be. Mother Nature provides the best education and entertainment that I know of and I never tire of learning more and more about the world I live in here in the shadow of Mount Katahdin.
I will be adding some historical information to this blog about the region in future postings as things slow down and winter sets in.
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