Black Bears

[KCRIVERRAT]

There ya go JD... "Longer than we've inhabited the USA". Heck, they're a pest for sure, but not a danger to livestock in the big picture. Just my thinking on it bud. I went bear hunting up in Ontario back in '86. Almost glad I didn't get one now. My wife would've flogged me with the ugly rug...

[zander]

do people really eat bear?

My great great grandfather and his sons were big time bear hunters in the Carroll county hills before and after the Civil War. They preferred bear meat to eat over pork because you could eat a lot more bear meat without getting an upset stomach like you can from too much pork. I've never tried it but I want to.

[troutfiend1985]

Hey I totally understand, it was just an honest question. I have no problem with hunters, its the people who hunt purely for the sport of it that bother me. To me that would be like catching a limit, cleaning the fish and tossing them in the garbage on the way to the car. I didn't know that people actually eat bear. Zander, instead of waiting for something that might take years, you should head on down to Arkansas and try it out. It seems that you are pretty interested in the whole thing. I don't know how much the hunting permit and all that costs.

I learned somehting today, and that is a reason to celebrate.

Tight lines.

[troutfiend1985]

Heck, they're a pest for sure, but not a danger to livestock in the big picture. Just my thinking on it bud. I went bear hunting up in Ontario back in '86. Almost glad I didn't get one now. My wife would've flogged me with the ugly rug...

I think the more accurate description is humans are the pests. Don't know what you can do about us, but it sure seems that when you get down to it, we are the problem.

Tight lines

[zander]

I wish I could I am still trying to find time to make it just to Branson I am so busy, Arkansas is out of the question unfortunately but I do dream about it.

[troutfiend1985]

Thats too bad. Hopefully things will get to the point that you can get on that dream trip. One of these days you'll get there.

Tight Lines

[taxidermist]

I have eaten bear on several occasions. It is really a lean meat, the fat on bear is all stored against the skin.

When the meat is smoked it quickly takes the smoke flavoring.

Oil Trough AR. was named such after the many troughs that in the early 1800s where storage for bear fats and oils.

Black bear are pretty easy to live with. most of the time you will never know they are there.

So many misconceptions about them.

If you are out in the woods and see logs ripped apart and rocks over turned large rocks and the ground seriously dug up. it could be a bear doing that. but most times they will be gone long before you find their sign.while eye sight is poor, their hearing is excellent.

ever wonder why noone finds bear carcass or skeletons in the woods?

Big foots eat them, lol.

[KCRIVERRAT]

I think the more accurate description is humans are the pests. Don't know what you can do about us, but it sure seems that when you get down to it, we are the problem.

Tight lines

You got me there, I know where you're coming from. Look no farther than the situation in the Gulf I suppose.

[jdmidwest]

There ya go JD... "Longer than we've inhabited the USA". Heck, they're a pest for sure, but not a danger to livestock in the big picture. Just my thinking on it bud. I went bear hunting up in Ontario back in '86. Almost glad I didn't get one now. My wife would've flogged me with the ugly rug...

I stated we have hunted, killed, and ate bears for thousands of years.

From our own Missouri Dept. of Conservation about the pest part.

Black Bears, a guide to controlling NUISANCE BEARS.

[troutfiend1985]

JD,I'm trying to understand your logic but I just can't follow. We have hunted many things in the US, and we have put some species on the verge of extinction if not totally wiping them out. Take the bald eagle and bison, you cannot eagles because of their protected status. So what is this argument about bears have been hunted before Europeans inhabited the US? It would be one thing if the state says its legal, and if they do, I have no problem with it.

Also, how much of a nuiscance are they? Are they your main concern as a farmer? Over coyotes etc. I'm not a farmer but I have a hard time believing the low populations of bears are the big cause of most agriculture problems associated with wild animals. Have you had problems with bears? Are these problems re-occuring?

I just don't see what you are saying.