Blonde Black Bear

[Boar]

Not many on the Oregon coast

 

[kman]

Hunted Saskatchewan twice and there was always one taken and a couple others seen. No surprise but never saw one hunting them in the Midwest.

 

[tcmers]

I’ve been hunting bears for over thirty years, and have never seen anything other than pure black in the wild. One day….

 

[Jason Snyder]

You’ll see a lot more color phase bears in hot and arid climates.

 

[abyl]

I have seen one in southwest Montana that was a two tone color phased bear. The head and shoulders were really blonde, and then everything below the shoulders and upper chest were a dark chocolate brown color. I haven't seen another one like that since unfortunately.

 

[01lowbird]

wow, never seen these before

 

[FishfinderAK]

Hunted one exclusively for two full seasons before finally arrowing him on the third year. Prettiest bear I’ll likely ever kill.

Ok. I’ll bite. Pics?

 

[shootnrun]

Back in the spring bear days in WA, seeing a couple a day in the Blues was pretty easy. They were plentiful, but you could also pick them out with the naked eye from miles away..

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Caught this one on trail cam, never saw him again. Cool bear, blonde but regular black face.
SW MT

 

[Wrench]

Eastern Washington bear here.

 

[Austink47]

I have seen more blond and cinnamon bears than I have black ones since I moved to Eastern Washington.

 

[huckfin]

Eastern Washington has a lot of color phase bears.

 

[mrkronyak]

We had a couple by me in PA

 

[Tmac]

A buddy showed me a picture from NE OR of a black sow with 4 cubs. Black, brown, cinnamon, and blond. Color phase bears are fairly common in that area, 4 cubs not so much as far as I know. That sow was an overachiever.

 

[MHWASH]

This little fella walked within 10 yards of me. Too bad he wasn’t bigger.

 

[mrkronyak]

A buddy showed me a picture from NE OR of a black sow with 4 cubs. Black, brown, cinnamon, and blond. Color phase bears are fairly common in that area, 4 cubs not so much as far as I know. That sow was an

Could've been last years with this years.

 

[Tmac]

Could've been last years with this years.

Possibly, they were all small, similar sized, and sure looked like the current years, but no way to be sure. Was really a cool sight with the colors. That area is thick with bears and gets hunted. I’d wondered if she picked up a couple orphans, no idea if that’s even a possibility.

 

[SixteenG]

I think a lot of it has to do with the sun essentially bleaching the hide on the bears. I’m really only familiar with Washington however. In Western Wa, most of the bears are black. In Eastern Wa, most of the bears are some sort of “color phase”. Even the bears that look black. When you get up to them on the ground they end up being chocolate/brown. I think the sun is the reason why a lot of the bears are blonde across the back, but then have darker color legs and face. Just an observation, I could be wrong.

 

[Beendare]

One of the coolest black bears I’ve seen was a 2 tone sow on our trail with blonde body and brown head and paws. She had 2 cubs.

 

[Corey0372]

Saw this one Spring 2023 (NW Montana), I was hunting with a buddy and he just couldn't get set up to take a shot. Pretty sure I saw the same bear (was basically in the same area) this past spring but with 2 cubs. Maybe not really a "blonde" per say but definitely on the lighter side.