Brown bears on Kodiak Island are classified as a distinct subspecies from those on the mainland because they are genetically and physically isolated. Like black bears, brown bears vary widely in color. Brown bears can range from dark brown through light blond. Brown bears are larger than black bears and have a more prominent shoulder hump, less prominent ears, and longer, straighter claws. Both the shoulder hump and the long claws are adaptations related to feeding.
The long claws are useful in digging for roots or excavating burrows of small mammals. The musculature and bone structure of the hump are adaptations for digging and for sprinting to capture moose or caribou for food.
Despite their bulk, bears are surprisingly fast and agile. Bears weigh least in the spring or early summer. They gain weight rapidly during late summer and fall and are waddling fat just prior to denning. At this time most mature males weigh between and lbs — kg with extremely large individuals weighing as much as 1, lbs kg. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks opted to not hold a hunt. Montana was the last state to hold a grizzly hunting season in the lower 48 states.
It occurred in and three bears were killed. Grizzlies were classified as a threatened species in in the Lower 48 states under the Endangered Species Act. A recently published survey by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the University of Montana indicated Montanans favor grizzly bear hunting by an overwhelming majority.
The survey was mailed to 5, addresses of Montana adult residents from November to January Four percent supported as much grizzly bear hunting as possible. I hope they start giving out tags. The Cheff family roots in Northwest Montana date back to the early s when some arrived with explorer David Thompson. Bud Sr. Grizzlies were always part of the landscape and numerous, too. Cheff said he and his family still run about cow-calf pairs and a neighbor had a grizzly attack some calves a few years ago.
Grizzly bear mortalities run the gamut from animals killed in traffic and train collisions to illegal kills or euthanasia for livestock predation. In , grizzly mortalities totaled animals in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. It was a marked rise from a time period including when bear mortalities never exceeded 34 in a year. In , the mortality number fell back to 35 in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Combine a grizzly hunt with a caribou or mountain sheep hunt for better overall value.
Since the dawn of times, bears and humans were two similar, intelligent and omnivorous species that competed for the same environment and food sources. No wonder the idea of bear hunting still makes people very emotional, on both sides of the hunting debate. There are two main seasons for bear hunting: in spring, after the bruins leave their dens, and in the fall, before the denning time.
The former runs in March to May, the latter - August to October. Both seasons are similar, in that bears feed actively, in order to accumulate enough fat for the denning, or to compensate for calorie loss during winter sleep, and concentrate around preferred food sources.
In addition, less dense vegetation makes it easier to locate a bear and estimate its size. People invented many ways of bear hunting: over bait, with dogs, on dens, etc. But in the USA and Canada the most common way of grizzly hunting is spot and stalk. This may be more complicated than a typical brown bear hunts, because grizzlies are seldom found on salmon rivers. All brown bears combine predation and foraging for plant food in their diet, but grizzlies are less vegetarian and more carnivorous than the average bear.
This influences their attitude: grizzlies are some of the most aggressive bears in the world - no wonder early American explorers christened them Ursus horribilis - and grizzly hunting is probably the only true dangerous game hunting available in North America. Bear hunting is a highly emotional business, and It is the primal emotions that make hunters go find bears, not the prospect of a big rug or entry in the trophy book. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush when bagging an Alaskan grizzly bear!
The bears we bring out average 8. Trip duration: 10 days.
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