To many bears in the Methow

[wolfbait]

Beginning of September in one week I saw three bear down low, wasn't even bear huntin, and then about a week ago I woke up to one snuffling at our bedroom window screen. Wasn't sure what it was at first so I flipped a light on, and was eye to eye at 2 ft with a black bear. We both eyed each other for a few seconds, probably a second for me, then the bear got down off the bench and wondered into the yard where he left a pile, and then just hung out for about 5 minutes, so I stepped out the door and sent a round into the wood pile. I figure he'd leave faster than he did, but he just trotted out of the yard. Talk to the neighbor down the road a ways, he said it had been in his yard also. Bear probably weighed in at around 200, wasn't a big bear we are thinking 2 year old.

A few nights later another bear came in, never saw it, but there were fresh tracks in the driveway, much bigger bear.

Talking with some friends who live in town, they said they have bears on trail cams coming in at night getting into garbage cans etc..



Saw a huge deer herd the other day, had to be at least 6 deer in it.

WDF&Predators

 

[RB]

"Saw a huge deer herd the other day, had to be at least 6 deer in it."

Wow that is too bad, put a 2 in front of that 6 and that would be what I remember seeing years ago and thinking it was cool to see "a lot" of Deer together. Too many predators!

[wolfbait]

"Saw a huge deer herd the other day, had to be at least 6 deer in it."

Wow that is too bad, put a 2 in front of that 6 and that would be what I remember seeing years ago and thinking it was cool to see "a lot" of Deer together. Too many predators!

20 years ago there would have been 150 plus in the same field I saw the six in.

[Mtnwalker]

Safe to say you've already filled both of your bear tags then?

[hunter399]

Your title should be ....
Too many bears in Washington.
Regulations/predators/poachers/Multi-seasons/permits/loss of habitat/.......
Overall enforcement/management
It's all the little stuff that puts our game population where it's at today.

[Twispriver]

As the fruit on household trees, feral trees and orchards begins to ripen the bears appear - every year - nothing new under the sun here. Once the fruit is gone I suspect the bears will be to. If you want less bears go buy some tags and harvest a couple. 

[timberfaller]

Hey! wolfbait!

How many yearling and fawn's have you see this year??  What increase in bear population do you think has occurred in the valley in your life time there??  I know what I seen the entire time I lived there.

Just had a friend over in Aneas(sp) Valley, got a nice 4 point during muzzy season.  Didn't see any yearling nor fawns with the very few doe's he seen.

 

[wolfbait]

Hey! wolfbait!

How many yearling and fawn's have you see this year??  What increase in bear population do you think has occurred in the valley in your life time there??  I know what I seen the entire time I lived there.

Just had a friend over in Aneas(sp) Valley, got a nice 4 point during muzzy season.  Didn't see any yearling nor fawns with the very few doe's he seen.

 

Just finding deer to count is a job unless you are in town and even those have dropped by more than half, fawns are far and few between.The big herd of six the other day had no fawns.

I'm not even going to try to give a percentage of the bear increase, but it's huge. Everyone knew that would happen with the loss of hound hunting.

Something changed this year from other years, it seems that the predators  dropped onto the valley floor in the summer, this year we have more cougar and bears down low than in the past or maybe it's excess. We have more than one wolf pack roaming the valley low lands.

Talking with some local fisherman off an on this summer, they said they had never seen so many cougar tracks in the river bottoms and river banks as this summer.

There is not enough prey to support the amount of predators we now have.

But then add an extra 1900+ residence since the start of whatever the hell covid is, maybe the prey base is expanding in a different way...

[buckfvr]

200lb 2 year old ?   

[762Armo]

I'm not from the area, but if you got tips on where to explore in that area to find a bear I'll help reduce the population there.

[timberfaller]

"1900+"

Yep, didn't do the valley any favor's!!

762,  look for old homestead orchards or berry patches.  For the good tasting ones.   IF along the river bottoms and been eating fish, they will taste like fish!

Big Valley Ranch used to be good for a big one now and then, BUT you'll run into a lot of those "1900" crowd!!  Now that the game department owns most of the river bottom part.  They didn't think the winter mule deer habitat was worth saving!

[Jpmiller]

As the fruit on household trees, feral trees and orchards begins to ripen the bears appear - every year - nothing new under the sun here. Once the fruit is gone I suspect the bears will be to. If you want less bears go buy some tags and harvest a couple. 

My folks live in mazama. Normally I'd agree that there's an uptick in bear numbers in the valley around end of summer but the last few years I can't go over without seeing a bear or hours old bear sign. They too have had them up on the back porch, hands on window, just chilling in the yard without a care in the world. My stupid schedule has kept me from hunting much the last two years but sooner or later I'll have a chance to get after them. It's gotten crazy, when my dad was running a camera behind his house he would get on average a bear a day.

[wolfbait]

A few years back a friend of mine stuck a trailcam in a small drainage up the Twisp R. a few miles out of Twisp in the middle of summer, he got 6 different bears on the cam in one week, and if I remember right 4-5 cougar.

Which predator kills more fawns, wolf or bear?

Back in the 70's I remember riding through an area that was loaded with bears and fawn scraps, come to find out it was a fawning area. Ten years later went through the same area agin, and ran into the same thing, I often wondered why the Doe's would use an area year after year where bears killed their fawns.

[Tball77]

Last years fires must of relocated many of them.  Both of the big burns last year were in areas that I have encountered many bears in.