I've been lucky enough to spend lots of time with coastal brown bear research on Chichagof and Baranof Islands in southeast Alaska. We (ADF&G) limited the harvest to no more than 4% of the population. We conducted the research to find what was the total populatio


This is a big, old, male that was in snare that was drugged and instrumented on Chichagof Island, SE Alaska.



Here's an instrumented bear (helicopter darted) ready for release.



This is working on another bear in the alpine of Chichagof Island.



Another big bear needing a collar...



Another alpine shot of the Hughes 500 helicopter I used for finding and darting bears.


Hope you enjoy the photos.
Jack

Good shots.

Thank you Jack for sharing your life's experiences with us , what's the average weight of the larger boars and the size of their home range ?

And what's the cub survival rate because of it ? I'm sure it varies due to berry crop and food availability ? Along with age of the sow bear .

Allan

Thanks Allan. The larger boars are pushing 1000 lbs, but the bears overall were only about 600 lbs. Home ranges were highly variable. Some bears didn't move to salmon streams and stayed in the alpine, and their home ranges were only 8-10 square miles. Others were 1000 sq. mi.+ when they'd move to salmon streams. Cub survival was about 75%. Highest known bear density known, along with Admiralty Island.

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

What was the actual density of bears per 50 square miles, or whatever ?

Great shots of your work, Jack.

The only 1,000 lbs and exceeding, that I have been hands-on with, are the heavy draft horses I've worked amongst.

And two white rhinos I was able to have hands-on experience with, in taking research close up shots , to do an African painting , years ago. I was at a game farm in BC, Canada. A unique, rare opportunity to be sandwiched between two very alive and inquisitive adult White rhinos on their pasture, with the handler right with me. He said I did well communicating with them as I took my camera close-ups. I just read their behavior as I do horses...

But that is tame compared to your experiences with non-complying 1,000 lb bears. I didn't have that hostile audience restrained....thank you for sharing your life.

Overall on Chichagof and Admiralty, brown bear densities were at about 1 bear per square mile; incredibly dense.

Thank you for answering my questions I've always been fascinated with bears since I was a little kid sitting on my grandpa's lap as he read the stories out of the Outdoor Life magazine each month .

Sharon as always thank you for sharing your wonderful art work .

Rumor is we have a few more grizzlies around here now than normal , I hope that FWP and the Fed's reach an agreement to allow hunting season on them .

I heard Alberta opened a grizzly bear season again .

Is that right, Allan? Alberta has a grizz season again?

Yes sir for problem bears , I totally agree that is son I wasn't sure I'd ever see in my lifetime !

Now if British Columbia would fallow suit then here in Mt and the rest of the mountain states !

Alberta Brings Back Grizzly Hunting, But Only for 'Problem' Bears | Outdoor Life
www.outdoorlife.com › hunting › alberta...

Here is a link Jack

If the population was 1 per square mile why limit the harvest to 4%? Human harvest of brown/grizzly is predominately males I have read. Doesn't removing males increase cub survival? Is it really possible to "over" harvest a wilderness bear population? Apparently you believe you tagged enough bears to get an accurate estimate of the population.

Thanks, Allan. There are grizzlies all over the place here too.

All us locals know they aren’t a rare sight anymore.

As a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee to our FWP , I've been pushing for sportspeople to get a chance to harvest the problem grizzly bears , yes I know it's a federal government deal but still I'd rather see a spokesperson get the chance to utilize the bear than the hide tanned and tossed in a corner of one of the regional offices .

From what I've read martentrapper I agree with harvesting the boar's will increase the cub survival rates .

I haven't heard if the one grizzly is still roaming in the CMR around the PN Bridge so they're really dispersing into area's they haven't been in for quite some time .

Most of mainland Alaska now has GMU sub units with a 2 grizzly per year bag limit. Units with a 2 bear bag limit you can sell the hide and skull. Griz are legal to take over bait in many areas now too. When I arrived in Alaska in 1978 the whole state was 1 grizzly every 4 years. You also had to buy a 25 dollar tag. The only places in Alaska now that still have that are the trophy areas. The state can't get us humans to harvest enough bears, black and brown, and ungulate populations suffer to some extent because of that.

A friend of mine just drove the Alcan to Alaska on his motorcycle one of his comments was how many bears he has seen in Canada and how two people were still missing after driving off the road on the Dalton highway if I remember correctly .

Grizzly bear management is a difficult thing to juggle but it's needed for a healthy sustainable population of them and other big game animals and the people who live near them .

I black bear hunted west of Meeteetse, WY about 4 years ago. In 5 days the only bear we saw was a grizzly.

Several people we spoke with that worked in the field every day said pretty common occurrence,

Are the brown bears featured in this post the same as Kodiak bears?

Cool photos, and cool drawings! Been a long while since I laid eyes on a Griz/Brown Bear. It was on Chichagof Island when I did. A long-time pal of mine and I did a bit of stomping in the Tenakee/Kadashan area. We bumped into those darn beasts everywhere we went! I admit to being spooked quite a bit by them when jumped at close quarters.......I am an admitted sissy!