June and Lily in 2007Many distant shots today but none close. We heard that the main guide around here had filled up and would be pulling out in a day or two. Bears are becoming ever more nocturnal and safer.
Bears are showing up with dirt in their claws, so the focus may soon shift to locating dens for Den Cams. That means hunters may see us not only hiking bear trails but hiking to old dens.
We’ve stayed out of the way of hunters. When I’ve seen hunters with kills on public roads, I’ve asked if I could see it and identify it for our records. I have never condemned a hunter for legally shooting a bear and have answered any questions they have about bears. They are usually proud of their kills and often keep pictures of themselves smiling with them.
The hunters I’ve seen this year are different. They wear masks and the answer is always no—from the hunters or from the attending conservation officers. So we haven’t fully seen any of the bears killed. Often members of the community gather on public roads where trucks are parked and 
Hunters packing uphunters will soon be emerging from the forest with a bear that people might recognize as a favorite neighborhood bear they have been feeding for years. These hunters emerge with their bears covered in blankets (photo), throw them into the back of a pickup, and drive away quickly. We hear disgruntled talk about not wanting an audience and let’s load up and get out of here. The hunters seem resentful of people gathering. Yet, they and their guides know that they are hunting on the edge of a community where residents have long fed these bears, where residents like to hike trails that they themselves have created, where researchers have been working in the woods day and night for years, and where we have let the DNR know exactly what research we would be doing in the area. They chose to hunt here anyway.
RC - evening of September 5, 2015Residents who have gathered have all been respectful. I can’t say the same for the hunters. Residents have been careful to do nothing that could be considered hunter harassment, which would be illegal, but neighborhood trail cams have photographed hunters skirting the edge or crossing the line with conservation officers present. So far, it appears that hunters get considerable leeway in what they can do.
We’re glad the initial rush is winding down without the loss of any of the long-time study bears. We counted on wily old Shadow, 28-years-old to make it through, and she and her cub are doing it again. Last night, we saw Shadow’s 16-year-old daughter RC and snapped a picture of her in the darkness to represent her nocturnal schedule that has helped her survive all these years. We have long heard the saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear,” but around here a fed bear stays out of trouble and doesn’t go house to house looking for tidbits in bad food years, and a fed bear is less likely to visit hunters’ baits, which may help explain the longevity of so many of the fed bears.
Visitors watch frogs eating cricketsActually, I was told by the campground managers who coined the phrase that it was the best way to get people to keep a clean camp. In campgrounds, fed bears often are dead bears. But in this bear-friendly community fed bears are long-lived bears that stay out of trouble, as the record shows. The key to coexistence is letting people learn about bears and get over the fear that is put on them by the media, hunting magazines, government warnings, etc. Fear sells. Fear gets TV audiences. And fear of liability drives government warnings. People will not coexist with animals they fear, and government agencies will not allow animals to live that they fear could become a liability by any stretch. That’s the mentality that we have always been up against as we teach the truth about bears. We’ll keep on doing it.
At this time of year, we cannot help but remember some of the bears we have lost. This picture of June that the DNR targeted and was complicit in killing brings back memories and feelings. Seeing her with Lily, who still survives and has the potential to go on teaching is partly a joy. We hope to have a Den Cam in Lily’s den this winter.
At the Bear Center, families watched frogs go after crickets.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.