Relocating bears

[OKHunter84]

I hunted in a wilderness area in NM 2018. We were packing in for mule deer. I had a fun hunt even though I didn't tag out. While we were back in there I saw several bears, one large color phase cinnamon that I can't get out of my head. Of course I didn't buy the OTC bear tag before we left.

I've planned on going back in but I've drawn tags in a few other places, life has happened and I haven't been able to get back in there. It's looking like this is the year. I only have one tag and it won't interfere with the dates, I have a buddy wanting to go and I have the vacation.

The basin I saw the most activity in was a four or five year old burn at the time. I've never bear hunted before so I'm not sure if I should just go back to that exact basin I saw the most activity in or try a different basin close by. There were quite a bit of deer and elk in that area, so I'm not sure if that's what had them there or if bears keep a home range. There are other burns not far from that area that might be close to that same age now or at least not ten years old. What do you experienced bear hunters think?

 

[OKHunter84]

Nobody?

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Well, I don’t know if I qualify as experienced. Been twice but with a guide both times. Dominant bears will stay in an area unless something more dominant pushes it out or the food source changes significantly. So that bear may still be there. Will a ten year old burn be huntable, or will it be too thick to see in there? I have no clue. A large black bear won’t be 4’ tall at the shoulder, so thick brush will make it very hard to find them.

 

[OKHunter84]

That's very true about the height of the brush, I hadn't thought about that

 

[tuffcity]

I think you'll find that at that time of year bears are ruled by their stomachs. It won't be the deer and elk that keep them in a spot it will be berry and other high value vegetation. Passively eating plants is far more energy conservative than trying to run down a deer.

I'm, obviously, only familiar with northern bears but if you research what the primary fall diet is and correlate it to burn growth regen it should give you an idea if the basin still holds bears.

 

[cuerro viejo]

DNA samples say home range of 10k acres to 50k acres for males, but i know hounds men that will say up to 60 plus miles

 

[MallardSX2]

Can't speak for western bears but Pennsylvania Game Commission trapped a bear several years back and they dumped it out 150 miles away.

The bear swam 2 MAJOR rivers and crossed 3 interstates and was trapped at the same trash can 1 week later......

Bears travel way more than most hunters will ever realize.

My advice to anyone who disagrees with me is to track a bear in a fresh snow and try to catch up to them.....

I have and it took me all day to catch up to them and most I never did catch up to.

This one wasn't so lucky. Started on the track at daylight and killed it 10 minutes before dark. The bear had gone 7 miles (in a straight line) from where I cut its tracks. No telling how far it had come prior to that.

 

[Trapline]

My understanding is that territories slightly over lap, for females anyway, that's why it take a population of them so long to get distributed because when new cubs start claiming a territory it will always slightly overlap an existing one. Males have a lot larger range that will overlap multiple female territories, unless the bear you saw was run out by a more dominant one, he should be in his range. If he was there working a food source and that food source is still there he will keep coming back to it.

 

[Duckhunter14]

It can be tough to answer your questions without a little more context as to the country you’re hunting. But generally speaking big bears are in a spot for a reason. Now the timing may have been instrumental in spotting the bears you saw. But generally just like big bucks, big bears pick a spot for a reason. Food, seclusion, a hot sow, good den location. There is a host of reasons, but he was there for something. As long as the answer wasn’t feed and the area no longer has feed you should still be able to find bears in the area. I’ve found that areas that produce bears will continue to produce them year after year. The only caveat being timing. For instance I was on a high country deer hunt and we counted over 20 bears in the basins we were hunting (including cubs) and the next year, zero. Why? The berries, we had an unseasonable dry summer and no berries. The bears were down in the bottoms eating the grass by the creeks since there was no food out in the open like the year before. So plan on finding them where you did before, but be ready to change your plan if conditions have changed and be ready to audible to plan B, C or D if need be.

 

[OKHunter84]

It can be tough to answer your questions without a little more context as to the country you’re hunting. But generally speaking big bears are in a spot for a reason. Now the timing may have been instrumental in spotting the bears you saw. But generally just like big bucks, big bears pick a spot for a reason. Food, seclusion, a hot sow, good den location. There is a host of reasons, but he was there for something. As long as the answer wasn’t feed and the area no longer has feed you should still be able to find bears in the area. I’ve found that areas that produce bears will continue to produce them year after year. The only caveat being timing. For instance I was on a high country deer hunt and we counted over 20 bears in the basins we were hunting (including cubs) and the next year, zero. Why? The berries, we had an unseasonable dry summer and no berries. The bears were down in the bottoms eating the grass by the creeks since there was no food out in the open like the year before. So plan on finding them where you did before, but be ready to change your plan if conditions have changed and be ready to audible to plan B, C or D if need be.

Yeah it sounds like I need to do more research on what the main food source for bears in the country in headed would be. I was kinda figuring and hoping that it would be like you're saying, same basins produce good deer year after year and it's the same with bears most generally.

You're right though. I'll have to scope out a couple burns close by this area in case I get in there and don't see anything. I'm hoping that's not the case since it's a PIA to get back into this spot.