Found a bear in a den

[Rattler]

Hunting on Thanksgiving, I see fresh dirt on snow by a boulder.  Get closer and see an opening under it.  Peer in and see a bear less than 6 feet away.  I must have woke it up.  It let me look in for a minute or two.  I waited close by for it to come out.  Decided it was a youngster and didn't shoot.  It went back in before I could get a picture of it though.  Flip phone sucks for pics.  I couldn't get a picture of it in that dark hole either.

Edited November 25, 2016 by Rattler

[Zag]

Cool find

[rachunter]

that's awesome i always look in cave holes never see anything.

[Lawdwaz]

Zag........my buddy who I think you met last week said he found a den too but it's over your way, not on your property but on the neighbors who has the Deer Search dog. (I don't want to give it away here)

very cool find!

Edited November 25, 2016 by Lawdwaz

[Rattler]

I just wish I could've gotten a picture of the bear.  It's on my land and I think it's staying for the winter.  I hope I didn't scare it away.

 

[grampy]

Cool find!  But did your heart skip a beat, when you made eye contact with those beady eyes in that hole?  Mine would have!

[Larry]

I would look at the reg’s before shooting a bear near its den. The reg’s say you can’t shoot a bear from its den. I guess if you wait till it’s outside the den it would be ok to shoot. But is it ethical

In the Southern Zone, hunters may not shoot a cub, shoot any bear from a group of bears, or shoot or take a bear from its den.

[Rattler]

First I saw it's nose.  Then it did a real big yawn.  That spooked me for a second.  Then it was popping it's jaws.  Had my rifle in my hand pointing at the hole.  Didn't know how big it was at that moment.  Turned out to be about 150 pounds maybe.

Gonna call the DEC guy my friend knows who tags bears.  Hope they come to tag it and I get some cool pics from that.

 

[Rattler]

No worries Larry.  I'm not gonna shoot it.

[The_Real_TCIII]

Be careful, my guide in New Brunswick told us the only bear attack they ever had was a power company lineman who came across a den and poked something at the bear, which promptly came out and killed him


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[Jeremy K]

1 hour ago, Rattler said:

First I saw it's nose.  Then it did a real big yawn.  That spooked me for a second.  Then it was popping it's jaws.  Had my rifle in my hand pointing at the hole.  Didn't know how big it was at that moment.  Turned out to be about 150 pounds maybe.

Gonna call the DEC guy my friend knows who tags bears.  Hope they come to tag it and I get some cool pics from that.

 

I'm not really knowledgeable on bears but don't they do that with their mouth to let you know that they are threatened and are about to do something about it ? I heard they chomp their teeth when threatened. 

[Bionic]

Yes, jaw popping is their way of intimidating a threat

[Rattler]

Correct, but they don't always do something afterwards.  You'll know if they intend to, because they will also start to move toward you.  If you continue to pose a threat at that point, bad things happen fast.

DEC said they do den work in March and will call me back about coming out to see it.

 

[Zag]

17 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

Zag........my buddy who I think you met last week said he found a den too but it's over your way, not on your property but on the neighbors who has the Deer Search dog. (I don't want to give it away here)

very cool find!

Yeah he mentioned that. Ill be looking for you if I shoot it!!

[Salmon_Run]

Great find !!!!

[Padre86]

On 11/24/2016 at 9:15 PM, Larry said:

I would look at the reg’s before shooting a bear near its den. The reg’s say you can’t shoot a bear from its den. I guess if you wait till it’s outside the den it would be ok to shoot. But is it ethical

In the Southern Zone, hunters may not shoot a cub, shoot any bear from a group of bears, or shoot or take a bear from its den.

As I recall from reading the regs, I don't think it's illegal to shoot a bear in its den, though some may consider it unethical.

It is generally considered a good idea to know if whether or not it is a sow with cubs, which may be hard to do if the bear is in a dark den.

[Rattler]

Well, I took a hike up the mountain today to see if the bear was in the den.  I took my digital camera with the flash this time too.  As I got close, I could see there was more dirt in front of the opening, so the bear had done some more digging since I last saw it there, but it had old snow on it for some time now.  There was old snow all around on the ground.  It was hard frozen now, and no sign of any bear activity on it.  I thought maybe the bear was in the den hibernating.  I went to the opening, trying not to make a lot of crunchy noise in the snow as I did.  It was quite noisy.  I peered into the dark hole and didn't see the bear.  I looked closer and could see the whole den inside and it was empty.  I do not think the bear is using it anymore.

Maybe someone killed it before the season ended?  Maybe it decided to move once it knew I found it?

What do you guys think?

 

[genesee_mohican]

I'd be setting up a low glow trail camera nearby to keep track of activity.  Not too close to the den though, maybe 50' away.

[GreeneHunter]

Don't ya just love the Great Outdoors !

[Rattler]

I must be the only hunter left who doesn't own a trail camera.

[Steve D]

For Release: Monday, November 7, 2016

DEC Seeks Assistance to Locate Black Bear Dens

This winter, State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) wildlife biologists are seeking the public's help to learn about new black bear dens throughout New York.

As part of DEC's ongoing monitoring of black bears in New York, wildlife biologists periodically check on black bears during the winter den season. The bears may be fitted with a radio collar to help biologists track the bears' activities throughout the rest of the year and to relocate dens in subsequent years for monitoring cub production, condition, and survival.

Bears may den in a rock crevice, tree cavity, or under heavy brush or fallen trees. Since female bears generally give birth in January or early February, a high-pitched squeal from the cubs may be audible if near a den. New York hikers and hunters typically cover countless miles of wooded terrain each year. DEC urges anyone who finds a bear den to not approach or disturb the den, but simply to note the location and move away from the den site.

DEC requests that anyone locating a bear den contact their local DEC Wildlife office with specifics about the den location, including GPS coordinates if possible. A list of regional wildlife offices is available on DEC's website.

More information about black bears in New York is available at DEC's Black Bear web page.

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[Merlot]

3 hours ago, Rattler said:

I must be the only hunter left who doesn't own a trail camera.

You're not quite alone in that regard...

[TreeGuy]

Be careful, my guide in New Brunswick told us the only bear attack they ever had was a power company lineman who came across a den and poked something at the bear, which promptly came out and killed him


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Hence the old saying....

[LET EM GROW]

I know very little on black bears, actually all bears in general really. But, do black bear here in Southern-tier/Western NY really hibernate in the winters? I always thought they did, but just the other day my brother in law had an adult set and several cub tracks(sow with cubs) walk down his driveway over night. He began to tell me that he didn't think they hibernated, or at least not for very long if they do it all. Again I do not know much about them, I see them and get plenty of pics of them, but never got the interest in learning much more about them. 

[chas0218]

I have always wanted to shoot one and had my chance twice but whiffed it both times. First time I hit him good but only got 1 lung and he lived all night and ran off with no blood. The other I hit the limb of my bow on my leg sitting down trying to shoot him. Both bears were in the 500lbs.+ range.