NO fat on this bear?

[Earshot]

Shouldn't a bear be starting to fatten up by now? this bear was long and lean, should have weighed more than it did.

[dirty24d]

I'm thinking alot of that has to do with the food sources available in the area.  What general area were you in? Also I think if the bear had a tough time gorging and packing down food prior to hibernating they start the spring off alot leaner and dont get chunky till fall. Just guesses and opinions..   

[h20hunter]

Looks a little lean, maybe a bit gray in the snout. Where did you take him. This years bear?

[kbdavear]

He does look pretty lean (from the others I have seen on here). Could it be because of the late summer???

[BLKBEARKLR]

Earshot,


That bear does look pretty lean, about 4 years ago we got a bear up high around this time was really lean, started looking at it and when we gutted it his stomach had somehow got a blockage in it. It was basically starving to death. Not saying that this is what happened to this bear but just something to look at.

But it is a nice bear got a good coat on it...... Congrats

Joe

[dirty24d]

Whats the length roughly 6 feet from nose to rear legs there all stretched out? Still a nice bear.

Congrats on the harvest.

[Big10gauge]

Did you check for intestinal parasites? We shot one that was full of them and was in about the same shape as yours. For the berries depending on the area and elevation where you got him, I've been up at the huckleberry patches in the NE and they have been pickable for about 3 weeks now. Anyway congrats on the bear.

[Kain]

Berries are just starting to ripen in most places maybe he just hasnt had enough good food yet.  Could have worms or be fighting an injury.  My dad got a bear the had healed fractures on both cheek bones.  Im sure that made it difficult to eat for awhile.  Let us know what condition the meat is in.

[rasbo]

some bears are called dog bears and are just built that way..

[Michelle_Nelson]

Is he gutted in either of the photos?  That will make him look leaner in the photos.  There isn't blood allover the tail gate from what I can see so thats why I am asking.

I don't think the Bear Looks real lean for this tme of year.  Most of the berries are just starting to come.  All the Bears I have worked on so far (3) have not had any fat on them at all.  So I think he just hasn't started packing on the pounds yet.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Congrats on the Bear by the way!

[one-eyed Ross]

He looks healthy to me (coat is in good shape, not moldy, no bare patches)....I'm guessing just has been waiting for the berries to get ripe.  I know around here, the blackberries aren't quite ready yet, and the salal is still very, very green...

[carpsniperg2]

yeah it could just be his build as well some bears are rolly polly other are long and strait looks healthy to me nice coat as well. congrats on the bear

[Earshot]

yeah the bear seemed health, I got it down below Lake Wenatchee. I had gutted the bear then strapped it to a pack and carried it a little over a mile back to the truck. it measured 6 ft from nose to feet, the front teeth were worn some but not bad so i figured about 3 to 4 years old hugh white patch on the chest.  A bear definately looks bigger when it stands up and looks at you!

[JackOfAllTrades]

some bears are called dog bears and are just built that way..

Bears are a lot like Women...  One day you see a Jennifer Lopez, the next a Rosanne Barr....  Shooting the bigger one is OK. What you do with the other is for a different forum.

measured 6 ft from nose to feet ?  Only 6' nose to the feet, then you shot a young'n as your tailgate isn't quite 6' across. That's why he's not fat.  In Bear years, he's a skinny teenager.  Most people field judge size of a bear by measuring from nose to tail. (not feet) And yes, they do look bigger when they stand up.

Nice lookin coat on a mid summer Bear -no matter what age...  

-Steve

[carpsniperg2]

yeah from nose to tail is what most meassure. i bet it was about a 2 years old bear i shot a 3 year old boar "my first bear" he was 5'2" from nose to tail and looked alot like that bear so i am sure he would be in the 2-3y range

[lewy]

He's skinny cause its his first year on his own and he cant remember all those eary summer berry patches his mom showed him, probably been doin more roaming than feeding.....Congrats on the bear! Nice work!

[Earshot]

Yes, I know the bear isn't a monster as I have a big rug from a few years back that had a scull just under the 18 inch mark and was over 300 lbs. that bear had about 3 to 4 inch's of fat on it but was shot in Sept. I found this guy on the way back to the truck after hiking in about three miles and calling along the way. he saw me just after I saw him and immediately stood up. I had about 20 seconds to try to size him up before he got nerves. like I said they look bigger when they stand and they are about as tall as you are. I'm happy it's got a nice coat and I've got some good roasts and sausage coming.

PS I think some asked if it was 6 ft from the nose to back legs all stretched out. I do know that official measurement is nose to tail.

[carpsniperg2]

"I do know that official measurement is nose to tail."

just thought i would educate you if you did not know not all people do.

[shedcrazy]

GReat bear, they sure do look bigger when it's close like that, the one I took didn't have alot of fat either. She was an old sow with her teeth worn down to almost nothing and her k9's were yellowed and rounded.

[h2ofowlr]

Congrats on the bear.  Time to buy the second bear tag.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Just fleshed out Bear #3 and it had about 2 fist size balls of fat fleshed off of it (maybe).  Mostly around the tail.

[rasbo]

I took a bear in mid july that had 2inches all the way across the back...bears are like people,attitude size personality...all differs