Bears

[Johnsfolly]

It is the breeding season for bears. I wonder if he has been figjting another male snd got overheated or exhausted before hitting the river.

[bobby b.]

I posted this to a similar subject on the Taney forum.  A friend's mother had a bear problem at her house in Reed Springs around Hwy 248 a month ago.

 

 

[slowbait]

We are the intruders. WE moved into their territory years ago. Nice to see nature coming back

[dblades]

Bears never left, they are just very elusive. First bear track I saw was 1963, in Schoolhouse Hollow on James River.

[Lancer09]

On 6/11/2018 at 10:12 PM, jdmidwest said:

I found it hard to believe that it drowned, looks pretty healthy in photos.  Blood out of nose and mouth, probably head trauma from a random jet boat.   Curious to see full autopsy.  But you seldom see one swimming around unless its a polar bear.

A few years ago when we were in yellowstone we watched a big black bear boar enter the river on the upstream side of a hill. Thinking we'd see it walk out on the other side were thought something happened to it.

Not long later we see it floating down the middle of the river doing barrel rolls, flips, and generally just floating down the river on his back enjoying hisself a nice float trip. Watched two other grizzlies swim that section as well. I'd say it's not just polar bears that enjoy swimming.

The article about the one that drowned said that's normal for a drowned bear to have blood coming out of nose and mouth. I don't know why that would be, but I'd venture to guess there are some anatomical differences between how bears and people drown.

I'm super excited they are coming back, it'll take time for people to get used to them though. All the drunk float trippers are going to be the first ones to have issues, though I don't know why people don't put their crap up any way, the coons are just as ridiculous and a lot more plentiful than the black bears are.

 

[Johnsfolly]

4 hours ago, dblades said:

Bears never left, they are just very elusive.

I know that the belief was that all the bears currently in Missouri were coming up from Arkansas. I believe that the MDC genetic research was showing that there was as small remnant population of bears in Missouri the whole time.

[Dinkslayer]

There was talk of a black bear spotted near a trailer park in Pevely, Missouri on the local news last night.  We had one in Desoto, Missouri a couple of years ago.  I've never seen one and spend a month a year in the woods.  I'm excited for the comeback!

[tjm]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

I believe that the MDC genetic research was showing that there was as small remnant population of bears in Missouri the whole time.

This is what I was told by an MDC bear trapper several years ago. Of course some of us knew that...

If a black bear isn't trying to eat you you may have been 10' from one and not known it.

[jdmidwest]

Black bears have been seen in my home area since I was a kid.  But, that was the time we were trading turkey for all kinds of stuff like otters, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and probably bears.  We wiped out wolves, mountain lions, deer, turkey, otters, and the elk from Missouri at one time.  I am pretty sure we got the bears too.

How can you pull genetics on something that has not been here since we have developed the technology to test genetics?

Sasquach and the Loch Ness monster are all remnants of the past too.  But I am glad they are back, soon we will have a season on them too.

[tjm]

9 hours ago, jdmidwest said:

How can you pull genetics on something that has not been here since we have developed the technology to test genetics?

The biologist that was trapping bears out of the Springfield office told me he had taken bears in certain areas that the DNA was different than the any of the bears in any of the stocking/trading programs; if you know the bears did not come from anywhere else and you know that they are here now, it can be safely inferred that they were here all the time.