Okanogan Bear

[woodywsu]

Just to clarify the removal of a sow from the population. I am targetting this sow because we have been having numerous problems with it at the ranch. She is not scared of anyone or any dog. She comes right into the barn and near the houses and tears $hit up. She has never bothered any of our cattle that we know of.  When I came upon her this last weekend at 20 yards (accident) she pinned her ears and "woofed" at me. She held her ground and I am the one who backed off with my 45 in hand. I will be removing this bear for protection of the family. To ensure no accidents happen. You never know, if she pins her ears again, I don't think she will make it to season.

Mtnmuley, I'm sure you have heard of this bear from Alice.

[BLKBEARKLR]

Just to clarify the removal of a sow from the population. I am targetting this sow because we have been having numerous problems with it at the ranch. She is not scared of anyone or any dog. She comes right into the barn and near the houses and tears $hit up. She has never bothered any of our cattle that we know of.  When I came upon her this last weekend at 20 yards (accident) she pinned her ears and "woofed" at me. She held her ground and I am the one who backed off with my 45 in hand. I will be removing this bear for protection of the family. To ensure no accidents happen. You never know, if she pins her ears again, I don't think she will make it to season.

Mtnmuley, I'm sure you have heard of this bear from Alice.

Woody,

I would be doing the same thing, and even if not it would be hard for me to let her walk, that is a very nice looking bear....

Joe

[Hornseeker]

She is not scared of anyone or any dog

OH man...thems the kinds I LIKE!!!  We've got a dog or two and had many more that would change her mind quickly!!!

[woodywsu]

We've got a pretty mean "hell-bitch" (bluetick) and a couple black and tans that I think would make her run also. Be funnier than hell to watch at least. 

[hunterheinz]

Just curious but has this bear been in an area that is closed to public hunting?(Private Property Ranch,did you say?)

[coachcw]

I thinks gonna get chilled come August. The last coupplle of years my hunting group have seen many more cat and bear in the 300's units , the numbers must be down .

[cohoho]

She is nice bear for sure.....  Take her in a heart beat and save a few deer and moose or whatever lives over there... 

[woodywsu]

Just curious but has this bear been in an area that is closed to public hunting?(Private Property Ranch,did you say?)

She moves around quite a bit. Our property borders a large state owned piece of land that gets hunted pretty hard. So she is on multiple properties (public and private)

[bigtex]

Straight from the 2009 WDFW Game Status and Trend Report for Okanogan bears:

The 2008 black bear season in the Okanogan BBMU occurred between August 1-November 15. Hunters had generally favorable conditions during the season. Hunter numbers continued to increase in 2008 to 1,644, which is below the 12-year average. Hunters also spent more days in the field in 2008, which led to an increase in hunter success of 8%, which is above the 12-year average of 6%

Harvest figures and age population parameters for harvested animals in the Okanogan BBMU suggest a relatively stable population over the last 10 years, within the context of highly variable sample data. The female percentage of the total harvest continued to fall in 2008 to 24%, well within acceptable harvest guidelines. The 2008 median age data was not available during the writing of this report. However, in 2007 the median ages for harvested animals dropped to 12-year lows for both sexes, but sample sizes were
quite small (12 animals for both sexes combined). The significance of this cannot be assessed with only one year’s limited data, but if median ages stay this low in future years, then the current harvest rate is not sustainable.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/status/09trend.pdf

[Ray]

It's a beautiful bear. Good luck to you. My guess is 250. I think at 350 the rear end of a sow would be much larger. No offense to your estimate and not meaning to sound condescending. Just offering  By the time fall hits she might be much larger though. From the photos the coat looks real good. I wouldn't hesitate to harvest a bear that nice looking myself.