Bear track size /weight ?

[Gunner]

While searching for hare I unknowingly awoke a bear out of it's slumber under a pine tree blow down.

 

I was about 20 miles south of fort drum.

 

My whole hand fit in the rear paw track plus an inch approximately. About 7 inches long.

 

Any idea the size of this bear ?

 

When I found the tracks my neck hair stood up..yikes!

 

Yogi left in a hurry across a swampy creek bottom . First bear track I've seen in the area.

 

 

[airedale]

I don't know squat about Bears but I am thinking that one is up and around a tad early.

Al

[Four Seasons]

Did you actually see where it was denned up under the tree?  With this warm winter I would guess a few will be out and about much earlier then normal 

[First-light]

Looks big but always out something in the pict fro perspective. Checking traps two weeks ago I found bear tracks. Then again we have three up here that were orphaned. They could be wondering around. 

[Steve D]

According to google:

A 7-inch front print is from a bigger bear -- 300 to 400 lbs. for a black bear. An average weight for a male brown bear is 500 lbs., with a large male bear weighing up to 800 lbs. Brown bear front tracks are between 6 and 8 inches long -- a 6- to 7-inch front track would likely represent a 400 to 500-lb.Apr 29, 2018

[Gunner]

That was a back footprint.

It was under a pile of pine trees .

There was still snow under there and no bare ground.

It may have hunkered down there on the 15 th of January or there abouts , when they got 50 plus inches of snow. 

Either way I read bears don't always hibernate all winter .

They did have warm temps and rain a few weeks ago.

I also saw fisher tracks meandering through hare territory.

Oh and some grouse as well.

They usually startled me . 

 

 

 

Edited February 1 by Gunner
Add words