Waggler -

I heard of Tony Reese but never flew with him, alas. I always imported Rick Swisher from Fairbanks. Nobody knows wolves like Rick. I've refused to fly with anyone else.

Jack

Barren ground grizzlies make me nervous when I had to work in their territory. Their coat colour is perfect camouflage in a spring time setting. At least polar bears wave a white flag !
My experiences was near Tuktoyaktuk NWT in the 1980's working on whitefish migration on the small ponds south of there. When you can put both your size 12 boots in a paw print....you take notice. When you have been tagging fish all day......a change of clothes was always left at the tagging station.
More and more have been showing up on the coastal area in Manitoba, with the advent of seasonal tail cameras left out.

The last plains grizzly take in Manitoba was in 1850's that there is a record of during a bison hunt near the Peace Gardens of Manitoba/North Dakota area. There was a skull of one found in a cave that it had fallen into sometime around 4000 bp. It was massive is size to todays bear standards.

What do those things smell like?

A bear. I am not kidding.

LOL
I realize that, but I don’t even know what a bear smells like. I have never been close to one.
When you gut a deer there is an odor. I don’t find it offensive but it is a strong odor.
So does a bear stink? Do they have an odor that’s offensive?
Coyotes stink, do bears?

I've shot bears, both blacks and grizz,,that smelled of fish or rotten meat they'd been rolling in. I've also had them very clean with absolutely no smell. I thiink normally they're not strinky, like a coyote or a skunk is.


Jack

LOL

As you touched on, species normally have a unique smell to them. Bears aren’t offensive smelling to me. The one exception would be the way bears smell from being on salmon streams in the fall. That was a bit much, with a couple bears shot that I helped with.

There have been times while afield that we could defiantly smell a bear, but not ever see one.

Here is a question for the biologists and historians.
Why are there no grizzlies in eastern, boreal, boreal, sub arctic Canada? It sure looks like suitable habitat.

Now that's FUNNY!!

As I have stated there are Barren ground grizzlies that have been on trail cameras. feeding on seals or white whales washed up as food source
they are travelling the Hudson Bay coast line in the non winter months. The furthest east they have gone is the top base of James Bay on the coast just in the past 5 years
there have been several taken just north of Thompson around 56*N latt. that is boarder line boreal/sub alpine habitat.250 miles inland from Churchill Mb.

Boco's line is just 100 miles south of that area they were seen last year

Have you ever skinned a samon eating bear, Gulo? Yuck! Ever eaten any grizzly meat. In western Alaska salmon country, yuck again. Even spring bears.
How does a state game management agency KNOW how many bears live in a certain area? Short of an expensive large scale collaring effort I think they don't! Area bio and region 5 supervisor in unit 22 up here seem to think they know. They have a quota for brown bear harvest in 22C.

Dude, do you think that the Department manages them down here for the maximum sustained yield?

The brown bears in SE are managed for viewing and a ADFG savings account. There isn’t a biological concern that necessitates 1 bear every four years.
Prove me wrong…

You're still 1 every 4 down there? Most of the mainland is 1 a year and 2 per year in several places. You can sell the hides in the 2 per year areas!

Yep, ABC’s and most of SE Mainland is one every four.

I've skinned and tried to eat grizzly meat where the diet was mostly salmon. I agree with you completely. Just about gag a maggot. I've tried eating half a dozen interior grizzlies that were not eating fish and don't particularly like them either.

ADF&G can get an idea of popln trend by looking at harvest statistics. However, they can't tell what the population is. For that, you are correct; they need to do an expensive, large-scale population survey. I know of no alternative. Even then, it's usually not a census (census means they count them all). Rather, it's a population estimation. There's a difference.

Wrangler I have no idea about what the Boone and Crocket score on that beast you killed But I WOULD SAY IT IS !00 ON SIZE AND THE SAME ON APPEAREANCE That would be 100% awesome based on it's size and another !00 % x the square root or pi based on its amazing coat both for it's color and it.s texture Definity unique
And that is why we hunt You never know what Mother Nature may have n store for us If we just get out and get after what we are looking That is really some kind grizz What a truly amazing critter you bagged

Then there is the winter bears!

Now that HAD to be a government project..............

Gulo I worked for a small family owned company for almost 40m years It did not pay all that well but they where flexible with how you could use your vacation During the last 15 or so years I got 4 TO 6 weeks of vacation My starting time was either 5 AM or 6 AM and most days I was finished at 2 PM tat gave me4 a lot of hunting and trapping time in the f afternoon The jog it self was usually rather hectic an fast paced but I was accustomed to it being that way so it did not bother me And my skills fit the job pretty well so it was a good fit On a good day I would sometimes say I do not believe they pay me to do this All that to say you seem to have found away to do what you love and love what you do And that fit has benefited you of course It is what a job is supposed to do At the same time it has allowed many of us t see and learn much about many things that we never would have been exposed excerpt for your vast amazing experience Thanks for sharing it with all of us