AUGUSTA, Maine — The black bear population is seen as healthy and robust as hunting seasons draw near in northern New England.
In Maine, where the season begins Monday, game officials predict success for hunters because of poor natural food levels that have brought many bears foraging out in the open. That increases chances for hunters who use bait.
“During lean falls like this, it is much easier for hunters to establish new baits because bears are searching more diligently for high-calorie food sources,” said Randy Cross, biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
“Many hunters were frustrated with hunting bears last fall when natural foods were plentiful, but this fall should be a different story for many. Some years, the bears win and others the bear hunters win — this year looks like it will be the latter,” said Cross.
Maine has the largest black bear population in the East, estimated 25,000 to 30,000, the largest in six decades. Last year’s bear hunting season ended with a low harvest of 2,400 bears, IFW says. But it is predicting a much higher total this year.
For the second year, hunters in Maine will be required to extract a tooth from their harvested bear and submit it at the registration station. The teeth are tested so biologists can monitor the bears’ ages.
In neighboring New Hampshire, where the season starts Sept. 1, last season ended with 418 bears harvested, which is within a normal range.
New Hampshire game officials say the bear population appears relatively stable at an estimated 4,800. Both Maine and New Hampshire allow hunting with bait, by stalking or with hounds. Maine also allows trapping of bears, within specified limits.
Vermont’s season also starts Sept. 1. The bear population is estimated at 4,500 and 6,000, with the highest numbers of bears in the center spine of the Green Mountains, the state Fish and Wildlife Department says. The department calls the current bear population robust.
To rebuild its bear population, now said to be at its highest level in two centuries, Vermont has banned trapping, outlawed baiting, controlled the use of hunting dogs and has prohibited the shooting of bears at dumps — which can be a magnet for hungry bruins — for several decades.
looks like a well managed resource for the state. Too bad we couldn’t run the rest of our affairs in this manner.
Better they called it a “baiting” season as there is no “hunting” involved when shooting a Pavlov conditioned bear from 12 to 20 feet away while sitting in a tree stand. Real sportsmen have a hunting ethic that is based on “fair chase.”
I always laugh too when they call it hunting. It’s easy to shoot a bear eating out of a bucket or barrel. It’s much more difficult to hunt them.
Hey Bill_Randall… Looks like you are still bitter from losing your Maine Guides license along with your hunting, trapping and fishing licenses for the numerous violataions you received from slaying animals out of season and unethical hunting practices…. That’s ok I’m always looking for a good laugh keep posting… And yes the Maine Black Bear study program is the best in the nation. The population is healthy and the hunting methods in place makes this possible..
All right BEAR, paws up, stealing food, hah.
Don’t shoot! Ya got me. I confess. I was just sniffing. Honest! I’ll even get treatment, if you will.
Tell me, again, why we kill these beautiful creatures? Because they might get hungry????? This, in my view, is animal cruelty and should be stopped. Except and unless, of course, the “hunter” is absolutely without any other means to feed themselves or his family. Then, by all means, shoot the animal, if you must, but eat all and don’t waste a gram of what you harvested. Oh, and incidentally, if you are someone who clear cuts our woodlands or in any way benefit from such culpable and unsustainable behavior, then YOU should have no business “hunting” anything in our woodlands as you seem to be causing and perpetuating the reduction of animal habitat, animal hunger and the targeting of bears, and should derive no benefit from it.
I guess the land your house is on was never used by an animal? Hunting is a great way to manage animal population and produce health animals.
Yeah, but I ate ’em.
Good luck to all the hunters this season. Hope we all get the bears we want.
I wish you had said, “need”, Mr. Sleepycreek. I predict, with some certainty, that it won’t be long until you find yourself on top of some list of those who will have their guns taken away anyway. Hunting is killing … and killing for “want” of it is, simply, a blatant form of heartless cruelty. Now, if you or your family are experiencing a real hunger, then, sure, by all means, harvest, cull, and “manage” all you “need” to in order to survive. If you still want to hunt bear, but AREN’T hungry, then TAKE A CAMERA and leave the gun in it’s case. Try it. Go on. You can do it. …
I want to harvest one certain bear but I need to reduce the bear population in my area. I would much rather harvest and butcher my own meat instead of buying store meat. You know the meat in the store was once an animal. Also I do enjoy taking pictures of animals (shocked my wife) but with hunting I get one final picture of the animal.
“I predict, with some certainty, that it won’t be long until you find yourself on top of some list of those who will have their guns taken away anyway” shove it!
Good luck. We don’t bear hunt any longer but when we did it was an adventure each time.
I tell you it will work, yeah?, yeah, we need to stock it with beer, cigars, free cellphone charging. Now remember, just use the mickey finn darts, knock them out for a couple of hours, we can use their truck, take them back to the city, bangor, or orono and dump them off. Now wear one of their hats while ya driving, okay. Then we can leave their truck close to the trail, we can clean up the restuarant leftovers they left and be back to the cave before they wake up. It will work like a charm, I am telling you. They think us bears are dumb, we’ll show em.