Why we moved camp

[TDH]

I had a wee bit of the same, dastier, there's a bear on or about our hunting ground. Saw it a week or two before the season opened. Its bigger than me by a fair amount! Fortunately, blackies aren't generally aggressive, and the deer don't seem to care.

Sir I don't know where you got your information on the aggressivness of the black bear but I suggest you re-evaluate. 99 times out of a 100 a black bear will wind you and be 3 counties away by the time you get to where he or she was. But that one time they just may be slipping back around you. You may be surprised how fast and quietly a large blackie can move through the woods. Don't trust them they may eat you. Especially avoid the ones with little ones. They are very agressive.

[Jim Tarleton]

Saw a NG program about wolves. They stated that there is only one recorded instance of a wolf killing a human, and that was in Alaska just a few years ago. Somehow I find that hard to believe. They released some red wolves just north of my farm. Never seen one of them, and we have a lot of black bears. I have never seen a black bear here, but my ex-wife walked up on one while feeding the ducks. She took off running, and the bear did too - the other way.

That is one huge wolf. I had no idea they grew that big.

Jim

[jon_norstog]

I got that photo over the 'net where I work, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal pLANNING. Someone posted the same picture on the Culver list. Someone else on that list said it was photoshopped. I don't know, but I do know that the alpha male up in Fish Creek headwaters has got to be as big as the one in the photo.

His pawprint was as big as my hand, thumb included. And I have XXL hands. We thought it was cougar tracks until we saw the claw marks.

My own feeling is,manage the predators and they will take care of the animals infected with chronic wasting disease. In fact this is not only common sense, a recent study found that it is actually true, some predators (Cougars on the east slope in Colorado) select for sick animals, even when they don't show any really obvious signs.

I'll post a link to the study, it was pretty interesting.

jn

[bearhunter]

Jon, here in Canada they had a few areas where the wolves outnumbered the game. One of the reasons for this was elimination of the A-B pairs. Without the A-B pairs, the packs will breed indiscriminately and the numbers will burgeon to unsustainable proportions very quickly.

[jmoore]

Sir I don't know where you got your information on the aggressivness of the black bear but I suggest you re-evaluate. 99 times out of a 100 a black bear will wind you and be 3 counties away by the time you get to where he or she was. But that one time they just may be slipping back around you. You may be surprised how fast and quietly a large blackie can move through the woods. Don't trust them they may eat you. Especially avoid the ones with little ones. They are very agressive.

That's why I said "generally" ! I don't trust 'em any farther than I can throw them. Its also why its "generally" a good idea to be well armed and alert whilst in the woods. I understand that the world isn't like Disney would have you believe. Yeesh!

[jon_norstog]

Heres the citation on the predator - chronic wasting study:

Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer — Biology Letters

interesting read. I would think twice about eating venison if I was hunting on the east slope in CO.