Mature bear occupancy

[mustelid_master]

I ran into a really nice bear in late May of 2021 in NW Montana. Due to stupidity and wanting to get closer instead of taking the shot I had, the thing winded me and ran off. But I got a good enough look at it to know it if I saw it again. In 2022, I killed my first bear, small boar in a completely different area. In 2023, I hunted again in the same area I had in 2021, and killed a bear that I would bet every penny I have was the same I saw in 2021; the same dark chocolate coloring, roughly the same size, and not a 1/2-mile from where I had seen him before. In my time hunting that area, I have seen lots of bear sign, scat and tracks, but the only tracks I have seen are large tracks, the kind that would come from the bear I shot. My question is: Assuming that it was the same bear, and he was the "king of the basin" so-to-speak. Is it a reasonable assumption to assume that he was the only bear in the immediate area? What is the likelihood that a new bear, small or large, has occupied the same area between May of 2023 and now?

 

[Felix40]

Very low chance there is only one bear in the area if there is good food there.

 

[WeiserBucks]

If you killed the dominant bear in the area, he'll be replaced.