Can you smell a bear?

[justaguy]

I was poking around the woods this weekend and caught a "wet dog" stink. There were no dogs around, but it made me wonder if bears had a signature odor. I've smelled rattlesnakes before I've seen them, and I think I smelled elk for the first time last fall during bow season. I didn't see anything that struck me as bear sign, but I'm very new to this game.

[KFhunter]

yup

I've smelled em,  and mountain lion

[dreamunelk]

Yes, bear have a smell.  You will know it when you smell one.  Nothing like a wet dog.  I think you may have smelt a deer.  They have a musky smell that could be called a wet dog stink.  Just guessing.

[KFhunter]

I've also been close enough to smack em with a baseball bat and didn't smell it.

I wouldn't rely on the sniffer,  but if your trying to use your sniffer then your hunting in the wind which is good 

[Mudman]

Heck ya, they can stink.  If you smell em they are too darn close.

[skagitsteel]

Or if you walk through a berry patch that's just been worked over you can sometimes smell em

[justaguy]

Thanks for the feedback. My wife always gives me a hard time when we're "hiking" ( I learned to call it that so I can get out to scout more) and I stop to smell when I catch a scent. I haven't seen a bear up close since I lived in WY about a decade ago. Now that I'm looking for them, they're a little harder to find, but sure fun trying!

[lokidog]

Never winded a bear, but I've winded turkeys 40 yards away, love that turkey smell.   

[h20hunter]

Never smelled them up close when they were there....just when I've been in an area that they had recently bedded down in. I would think that if you can smell them and hear them you better be on your toes.

[boneaddict]

Yes they smell.  I use my nose quite a bit while hunting.   Kinda thought everyone did.

[buckfvr]

Yep.......hunting same as being hunted...........eyes, ears, and nose........movement, sound, and smell.

[Bucks2Ducks]

Yeah they definitly have unique a musk to them, not like an elk though; a lot of times in the thick wet side I smell elk before I ever see or hear them. A bear seems to always be moving and you I usally hear them before I get close enough to smell them.

[Kc_Kracker]

i just assumed if i smell peanut butter & jelly, its yogi 

[hoytem]

Yes they smell, and yes in my opinion "wet dog" would be the best way to describe it.

[Jonathan_S]

Yes you can smell a bear.  Kill it and stick your nose up next to it's mouth and you might pick up an odor.