Another hunter mistakes grizzly for black bear in Idaho

[yfarm]

I mean even people get shot every year here and there too, just a lot of blithering idiots running around out there in the woods unfortunately.

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tpwd.texas.gov

Interesting reading

 

[ozyclint]

What was the bear's name?

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

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tpwd.texas.gov

Interesting reading

That table at the start is wild

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I've only seen a couple of bears in my life. I would not know the difference between a grizzly and a black bear. But I'm not bear hunting either.

Wouldn't worry too much about it.

Far too many black bear hunters cannot determine the gender of a bear, if it is mature or still has milk on its muzzle (figuratively or literally), as well as determine if it is a big one or not.

 

[SWFLhntr]

We were at Jenny Lake in GTNP a couple years ago. Right by the boat ramp/bridge across the river. Lo and behold what turned out to be a blonde black bear and 2 cubs came walking across.
I had no effing clue. I was about to yell “grizzly bear…..run for your lives!”
My family talked me down.

 

[mike.adams.467]

That’s going to be the biggest takeaway from this incident. Last year’s shooting was a black eye, this is going to send the flag up the pole.

They are freaking more about the grizzly cubs that were found dead in Teton Park this week. Sounds like dad had 2 of them for a meal, and cub number 3 is MIA.

 

[CMP70306]

That table at the start is wild

So is the one where the guy went to shoot a pig with a .22 and another pig hit him and he shot himself in the foot. Or the one where someone went to shoot a snake off a boat and dropped the handgun in the boat shooting someone else.

Most of the other ones were just people shooting each other while bird hunting.

 

[grfox92]

11 individuals in one day is impressive. Sounds like your buddy chose the wrong spot. Black bear populations aren’t very fruitful in well established grizzly habitat.

He was told by several people he was barking up the wrong tree. I've lived here for 5 years and seen a few dozen grizzly bears. Never laid eyes on a black bear.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[7RemMag]

I don't really see how it's evidence of anything but a failure to identify what he was shooting at.

I've not seen too many Grizz in person. In fact, damn few. I do live in Wyoming among some pretty seasoned hunters, including bear hunters. Plenty of whom have spent ample time in Grizzly Country. Randy Selby "The Real Gunsmith" on YouTube has done an entire video dedicated to the topic of Grizzly vs. Black Bear, and indicated quite adamantly that at times it can be damn difficult to differentiate between the two. Now, Mr. Selby is a knowledgeable and respectable man, even if he can be set in his ways from time to time. However, When I have numerous seasoned hunters of different ages and opinions tell me that it can be particularly difficult, I certainly would tend to believe it to be at least partially true.

You're dealing with the same family here, and two that are particularly similar, spare a few general "signs" that can potentially help distinguish the two. You're not dealing with a "whitetail deer vs. a moose" type of situation as has been suggested already in this thread. You're dealing with "Is it a bear or is it a bear?". I've killed exactly one bear, and it was in my home state of Pennsylvania where Grizzlies are nonexistent. I have not hunted bears here in Wyoming in territory that is considered part of the Grizzly Bear's range thus far. Still, I have seen big boar black bears in Pennsylvania that certainly could've somewhat resembled a grizzly, and I've little doubt that the opposite could potentially be true.

Human error is a fact of life. This incident was self-reported, which indicates to me that it was just that-a mistake. If past cases are any indication, this poor fella has quite a court case ahead of him, and some pretty stiff penalties at stake. When we have actual criminals running around in the streets, I certainly don't find it overly frugal, nor sensible, for a court, nor any government officials to be tied up in charging and/or trying this guy for a mistake that as far as I can tell, wasn't a result of gross negligence.

Two of the 4 comments already on the article shared by the OP are quite obviously to me individuals who have little to no knowledge of the sport of bear hunting. I can't deny that there is plenty of misfortune in this situation, and it most certainly is not a good look to the anti-hunting crowd-But what's new?

 

[Speaks]

That table at the start is wild

The number of certified students also could not explain the decline. Seems more like the trend was starting and they used the program to take credit.

 

[yfarm]

The number of certified students also could not explain the decline. Seems more like the trend was starting and they used the program to take credit.

Look at the age ranges of the shooters and the weapon used. Be very careful dove hunting around young hunters.

 

[MTtrout]

I've not seen too many Grizz in person. In fact, damn few. I do live in Wyoming among some pretty seasoned hunters, including bear hunters. Plenty of whom have spent ample time in Grizzly Country. Randy Selby "The Real Gunsmith" on YouTube has done an entire video dedicated to the topic of Grizzly vs. Black Bear, and indicated quite adamantly that at times it can be damn difficult to differentiate between the two. Now, Mr. Selby is a knowledgeable and respectable man, even if he can be set in his ways from time to time. However, When I have numerous seasoned hunters of different ages and opinions tell me that it can be particularly difficult, I certainly would tend to believe it to be at least partially true.

You're dealing with the same family here, and two that are particularly similar, spare a few general "signs" that can potentially help distinguish the two. You're not dealing with a "whitetail deer vs. a moose" type of situation as has been suggested already in this thread. You're dealing with "Is it a bear or is it a bear?". I've killed exactly one bear, and it was in my home state of Pennsylvania where Grizzlies are nonexistent. I have not hunted bears here in Wyoming in territory that is considered part of the Grizzly Bear's range thus far. Still, I have seen big boar black bears in Pennsylvania that certainly could've somewhat resembled a grizzly, and I've little doubt that the opposite could potentially be true.

Human error is a fact of life. This incident was self-reported, which indicates to me that it was just that-a mistake. If past cases are any indication, this poor fella has quite a court case ahead of him, and some pretty stiff penalties at stake. When we have actual criminals running around in the streets, I certainly don't find it overly frugal, nor sensible, for a court, nor any government officials to be tied up in charging and/or trying this guy for a mistake that as far as I can tell, wasn't a result of gross negligence.

Two of the 4 comments already on the article shared by the OP are quite obviously to me individuals who have little to no knowledge of the sport of bear hunting. I can't deny that there is plenty of misfortune in this situation, and it most certainly is not a good look to the anti-hunting crowd-But what's new?

I appreciate your well thought out post. Nature doesn’t always follow our textbook identification guide of what they should look like.

Black vs grizzly is more like whitetailed vs mule deer comparison. Sure there are obvious similarities but still there are also strong differences between the two to responsibly identify them as different species.

Same with bears.

 

[Rotnguns]

The number of certified students also could not explain the decline. Seems more like the trend was starting and they used the program to take credit.

I dunno - the table from 1988 to present shows over 1.5 million students certified. Looks like the program may have been effective.

 

[7RemMag]

I appreciate your well thought out post. Nature doesn’t always follow our textbook identification guide of what they should look like.

Black vs grizzly is more like whitetailed vs mule deer comparison. Sure there are obvious similarities but still there are also strong differences between the two to responsibly identify them as different species.

Same with bears.

Appreciate it…You are absolutely right that there are certainly some obvious signs, but they are just that…indicators.

I pride myself on trying to put myself in the other person’s shoes. Could I positively identify a grizzly from a black bear? I’d sure like to think so. I’ve done well on the online tests I’ve taken several times, rarely missing one. However, I’m still human, and God knows I make mistakes just like any other. In the event I ever made this mistake I would want some leeway, too

I view this as another good example of why grizzlies need delisted, and management turned back to the states. That would open the door for a more sensible approach to situations just like this.

I’m not saying that this should be excused entirely, but if the state was handling it it could be a lesser issue. Sure, make it sting a little bit….It’s still an accidental kill, and a mistake was made, but the guy could pay a several hundred dollar fine rather than potentially tens of thousands and/or jail time or probation.

 

[Dmoua]

That area has a high number of grizzlies. iDFG should issue one tag per year imo.

 

[Rotnguns]

Appreciate it…You are absolutely right that there are certainly some obvious signs, but they are just that…indicators.

I pride myself on trying to put myself in the other person’s shoes. Could I positively identify a grizzly from a black bear? I’d sure like to think so. I’ve done well on the online tests I’ve taken several times, rarely missing one. However, I’m still human, and God knows I make mistakes just like any other. In the event I ever made this mistake I would want some leeway, too

I view this as another good example of why grizzlies need delisted, and management turned back to the states. That would open the door for a more sensible approach to situations just like this.

I’m not saying that this should be excused entirely, but if the state was handling it it could be a lesser issue. Sure, make it sting a little bit….It’s still an accidental kill, and a mistake was made, but the guy could pay a several hundred dollar fine rather than potentially tens of thousands and/or jail time or probation.

Yes! I've always felt that there are lots more grizzlies in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho (and now Washington) than officially reported.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

I can see how this would happen, you all mistake the general forum for bear forum and more often then not the firearms forum as well lol

 

[Rotnguns]

I can see how this would happen, you all mistake the general forum for bear forum and more often then not the firearms forum as well lol

My bad - I should have started this thread in the Bear Forum. I thought it was more a topic of general interest. I will post future such threads in the Bear Forum.

 

[Legend]

Appreciate it…You are absolutely right that there are certainly some obvious signs, but they are just that…indicators.

I pride myself on trying to put myself in the other person’s shoes. Could I positively identify a grizzly from a black bear? I’d sure like to think so. I’ve done well on the online tests I’ve taken several times, rarely missing one. However, I’m still human, and God knows I make mistakes just like any other. In the event I ever made this mistake I would want some leeway, too

I view this as another good example of why grizzlies need delisted, and management turned back to the states. That would open the door for a more sensible approach to situations just like this.

I’m not saying that this should be excused entirely, but if the state was handling it it could be a lesser issue. Sure, make it sting a little bit….It’s still an accidental kill, and a mistake was made, but the guy could pay a several hundred dollar fine rather than potentially tens of thousands and/or jail time or probation.

Great insights. While in some cases identification is obvious.

Some more food for thought. There is natural variability in all species. Think of a bell shaped curve where the middle of the curve is the typical color of a gbear claw. There will be some with bright claws (can be seen from 100s of yds) and some with darker claws (much harder to see from distance) It's just natural variability. This variability occurs with every identification feature (hump, snout, etc). And then to add to the challenge the same is true for black bears.

Mistakes happen.

 

[Flymost]

I mean even people get shot every year here and there too, just a lot of blithering idiots running around out there in the woods unfortunately.

I work in an industry where everything is recorded and every accident is gone over with a fine tooth comb. While there are plenty of cases where idiots messing around are the cause most of the time it’s good people who made an honest mistake, were lead down the wrong path, or just plain had terrible luck.