Author Topic: Color phase bear (Read 15374 times)

boneaddict · « **on:** May 30, 2007, 10:17:38 AM »

My friend just nailed this bear in Idaho. He wasn't very big, but he sure is beautiful. He held out to the very end, with a goal of a huge black, or any color phase, and he shot this in the last 15 minutes of light.

boneaddict · « **Reply #1 on:** May 30, 2007, 10:18:23 AM »

Ridgerunner · « **Reply #2 on:** May 30, 2007, 10:24:32 AM »

I heard about this one, good to see the pictures now. I need to head over there one spring real soon, I need a good color phase bear.

boneaddict · « **Reply #3 on:** May 30, 2007, 10:25:57 AM »

We'll probably hook up here pretty soon Ridge to help get you one of these, or we need to run over there one of these Springs together.

jackelope · « **Reply #4 on:** May 30, 2007, 10:30:07 AM »

thats a cool bear...a little bit of every color

rackattack · « **Reply #5 on:** May 30, 2007, 10:30:58 AM »

Nice bear. Looks like billythekidrock's elk have been to idaho

high country · « **Reply #6 on:** May 30, 2007, 12:59:59 PM »

good coat,

I saw one that went about 5' during the spring season that was similar in color and had some very light streaks, had to pick it good to be sure it was right species. we are lucky to have so many different colors of bears in the nw I have seen every color except the blue bear.

boneaddict · « **Reply #7 on:** May 30, 2007, 01:30:34 PM »

I hear you about that. That blue bear is on my list. My Dad has seen one, but out of all the bear I've seen, not one of those.

billythekidrock · « **Reply #8 on:** May 30, 2007, 05:22:12 PM »

Quote from: rackattack on May 30, 2007, 10:30:58 AM

Nice bear. Looks like billythekidrock's elk have been to idaho

LOL

saylean · « **Reply #9 on:** June 11, 2007, 11:28:48 PM »

I got a question about the "Color Phase". Is the phase permanent, yearly or what? I knew that we had different color bears (eastern wa/western wa) but didnt really know that they changed color. I just thought that it had to do with the environment/what they ate, etc. So, a brief explination would be cool. I looked it up on Wikipedia, but it didnt help. I ask because I got my first bear last year (a nice gold/blonde color) in Eastern Wa, by Twisp, which kind of looked like the bear shown above, fur wise.

Thanks again.

Saylean

boneaddict · « **Reply #10 on:** June 12, 2007, 07:36:29 AM »

I would guess mostly genetics.

mossback91 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 06, 2008, 10:59:09 PM »

AS in blue your talking like silver/graysih right?? seen one. Had a bear tag. He was a big boar. I was deer hunting and didnt want to mess with bear plus he was very pretty. I let him walk.

billythekidrock · « **Reply #12 on:** January 07, 2008, 05:50:17 AM »

Quote

I got a question about the "Color Phase". Is the phase permanent, yearly or what?

"Do bears' coats change color?
Yes, a bear's coat can change color - from brown or cinnamon to black. This generally happens in the juvenile or sub-adults years. Changes seen in older bears are usually attributable to bleaching, where the tips of the hairs are lighter than the base."

"Why would black bears be different colors if they are all the same species?
While the causes are not perfectly clear, there is evidence to suggest that coat colors vary as a mechanism of camouflage or due to climate and habitat."

Quote

AS in blue your talking like silver/graysih right??

"What is the rarest color phase of American black bears?
While white is the rarest color phase, a very uncommon and particularly beautiful color phase of the black bear is the blue-gray or glacier bears of southeastern Alaska, northwestern British Columbia and the southwest Yukon."

From here http://www.americanbear.org/FUR.htm

Houndhunter · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2008, 12:50:36 PM »

Quote from: boneaddict on May 30, 2007, 10:17:38 AM

He wasn't very big

wasnt very big is right, he's still got milk drippin from them lips

Bigshooter · « **Reply #14 on:** January 07, 2008, 10:18:24 PM »

My buddy has a dog that looks just like that.

saylean · « **Reply #15 on:** January 07, 2008, 10:33:58 PM »

I woulda shot it...

boneaddict · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08, 2008, 10:21:41 PM »

Idabooner has seen one, a blue bear that is. He'll have to tell that story.

jstamp · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08, 2008, 10:46:14 PM »

Quote from: saylean on January 07, 2008, 10:33:58 PM

I woulda shot it...

ME TOO

actionshooter · « **Reply #18 on:** January 09, 2008, 06:13:09 PM »

My cousin killed a glacier bear in alaska, pretty impressive. I'll try to get a pic, It was on display at the sportsmans show a few years ago. Cabelas offered a pretty fair chunk of change for the rug and he refused.

Idabooner · « **Reply #19 on:** January 09, 2008, 08:58:03 PM »

Quote from: boneaddict on January 08, 2008, 10:21:41 PM

Idabooner has seen one, a blue bear that is. He'll have to tell that story.

Boneaddict would have been about a year old when his 8 year old brother and I were hunting up out of 25 mile creek, about 10:am it started dumping snow big time. Didn't want to get that kid to wet so were calling it a day, had just started down the road when I seen where something had slid off the bank into and across the road, fair size bear tracks and no snow in them. It was so close I had to try for it, can't leave the kid so I put an old man size plastic slicker on him and drug him over the hill on the track. It was very steep and slick for a long ways, nothing makes more noise than a kid in a cold plastic slicker with the sleeves dragging the ground. We were hurrying but the tracks were getting snow in them, then we come to less steep ground and the air was full of honey bees, the bear had knocked over a 18 inch dead snag and ripped it open to a honey bee nest, there was lots of honey and the bees were still mad, the tracks leaving were fresh again, the terrain was open timber with buck brush. I was dragging the boy with one hand and rifle in the other moving as fast as possible when I caught movement ahead, the wet BLUE BEAR was 75 feet facing me, before I could get a shot he jumped off the log he was on and disappeared. I knew the game was over but I checked out the tracks to learn what happened.
We had spooked him off the honey tree, he went 200 yards, took a big dump and come back his track to check us out. A few feet from his dump was another and another, 5 or 6 all very fresh dumps, I back tracked a couple of them, it appeared they had come off the hill on different finger ridges and had a meeting there then all went their own ways. I would have liked to spend more time there checking it out but had to get that boy out of there, it was dark when we got back to the road, with a very tired but dry boy.
It's always been a question to me what happened that day, was it a bear cross roads and the sudden change in weather sent them to lower country all at the same hour? I went back a couple times next year but missed the magic hour, it was a hell hole in there and most bears would have been safe, but for a blue I would have figured out a way to get him out.

Have any of you guys seen a similar thing?

ICEMAN · « **Reply #20 on:** January 09, 2008, 09:14:28 PM »

Not me, never seen anything like that. Great story.

billythekidrock · « **Reply #21 on:** January 10, 2008, 05:36:18 AM »

I have not seen one other then on tv and they are always in AK. It would sure be a sight.

Skyvalhunter · « **Reply #22 on:** January 10, 2008, 05:45:55 AM »

Yea those Glacier bears ar hard to get in Alaska. One of the guys that guided me on one of my sheep hunts in Alaska gets them out of Lake Iliamna. It's that bluish tinge coloring that is popular.

boneaddict · « **Reply #23 on:** January 10, 2008, 06:29:06 AM »

Thanks for getting the story on here. I haven't seen a gethering like that, but I have seen a bear wallow up by Kettle falls. They use it every year. The hucks come on and in the Aug/Sept heat they drop off the ridge and into this thick cedar crap where there is a couple big "bathtubs" coming out of a spring. It would be impossible to tell how many bears use it every year and at the same time, but the word lots means something. I think I sorted out at least a dozen tracks one time. I only killed two bears there, both straight up the hill. I never sat on the wallow. It would be a good spot to put a stand, but thats not my cup of tea.

JoeVon · « **Reply #24 on:** January 10, 2008, 01:03:38 PM »

I had a chance at a bear similar to the one the thread starter got up near Randle. I had to pass cause she had 3 cubs with her. On one hand it was easy to do because of the cubs but the little guy on my shoulder was tellin me to fling some lead. I'm glad that I didn't do it though, as I was blessed with a black phase bear with a white patch on its chest towards the end of the season.

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #25 on:** January 10, 2008, 01:08:54 PM »

Were any of the cubs color phase?

I just got to thinking. I've only seen one bear out hunting. Of course I don't get a whole lot of cubs into mount, lol. So I have never seen a cub up and personal. I was just wondering are Bear Cubs color phased from birth or is ths something they aquire when they begin to reach adulthood?

I mean can you tell what color a cub is going to be as an adult?

WAcoyotehunter · « **Reply #26 on:** January 10, 2008, 01:16:22 PM »

I think you can. I have a picture of three cubs together, they're all different colors, blonde, cinnamon, and black. There was a fouth cub in the "litter" also; he was brown. He was more wary than the rest and ran off. We were in a boat and the three let us get right up to them, the black one even tried to get in the boat!! Supposedly the sow got into trouble in an orchard and was gone.
We saw those cubs the next season in alomst the same place and were able to ID them.

boneaddict · « **Reply #27 on:** January 10, 2008, 01:18:00 PM »

They can change a bit, but they are color phase at birth, or at least when their hair comes in. Theres a good picture on here of different colored cubs and Mom. I've seen all three colors with a black Momma. A bear can store their sperm for some time, thus she can be bred by multiple males and have lots of different genetics running around in there.

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #28 on:** January 10, 2008, 01:20:21 PM »

Interesting. I'd like to see that picture but I can't find it!

JoeVon · « **Reply #29 on:** January 10, 2008, 01:27:14 PM »

One of the cubs looked like it had a little bit of color phase to it. I'll get the pictures I took through the spotting scope and see if I can them posted.

WAcoyotehunter · « **Reply #30 on:** January 10, 2008, 03:25:32 PM »

Here they are! The little black one was really thinking about climbing in. That would have been interesting

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #31 on:** January 10, 2008, 03:55:03 PM »

Now ya got to admit those things are cute! I just wouldn't want to snugle with one of them

WAcoyotehunter · « **Reply #32 on:** January 10, 2008, 03:56:50 PM »

I thought we might get the chance.
I had a pet Blackie when i was young. Mom ended up putting her foot down when my brother and i had it wrestling too much...she was afraid it was getting too rough. They're not much for cuddling, and they eat ALOT!

WAcoyotehunter · « **Reply #33 on:** January 10, 2008, 04:00:50 PM »

they are cute.

1arrowfromhotstreak · « **Reply #34 on:** March 17, 2008, 09:48:31 PM »

Here are a couple of color phase bears from Idaho.

archery288 · « **Reply #35 on:** March 17, 2008, 10:31:51 PM »

awesome pics! great lookin bear, I think I am ready to go hunt some spring bear!!!

Head-shot · « **Reply #36 on:** March 17, 2008, 10:54:07 PM »

Me too, come on and draw. I can't hardly wait.

flyguide · « **Reply #37 on:** March 25, 2008, 08:57:23 PM »

Is that dog full grown yet?

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Author Topic: Color phase bear (Read 15374 times)

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