Problem bears in the Ely area

[Voyage North]

from Becca Manlove of the Kawishiwi Station:

Recent bear activities reported to the Kawishiwi Wilderness Station:

July 29 Wood Lake campsite #2 (narrows): Aggressive bear coming into camp

(reported through Voyageur North Outfitters)

Aug. 1 Crooked Lake - between Friday & Saturday Bays: bear took a small

food pack

Aug. 4 Crooked Lake - Friday Bay campsite #9: About a 100lb female with

2 cubs - stole food pack in the middle of the day. (reported through Packsack).

[Wade Joseph]

"Please don't feed the bears"

"What about the ranger Yogi?, Hey booboo, the ranger can get his own pickinik basket!"

[Northlander]

LOL!

[cloyd]

studies were done in alaska concerning aggressive bears

minnesota is in a extreme drought(northern half of state just like the drought conditions in alaska during the studies) an this effects berries an other food sources bears eat

bears have come to know humans are an easy food source bieng the trash we leave an the lack of understandng an responibility we have for leaving our food out an unprotected..bears are looking for easy food..any food

bears bieng aggressive in minnesota..not a huge surprise

alaskan bears becme so aggressive they started to attack humans an wandering into settlements more often in search of food

we share this land..an bears are hurtin an going hungry..lets not forget where we are on that food chain when we out there an be careful

[SKIPPERS KID]

All problem bears should be shot well I am not a tree huger but bears are unpredictable you never know? What they will do so be careful...

[fishinsfun]

Too bad you can't shoot problem humans!

[Steve Foss]

I would bet those Alaska studies focused on brown/grizzly bears, not black bears. Cloyd, correct me if I'm wrong on that. Most studies of bear behavior coming from alaska deal with the brown/grizzly, which by its very nature is far more prone to attack and eat humans than blacks. Comparing brown/grizzly behavior to black bear behavior is comparing apples to oranges.

That being said, it definitely is a BAD idea to show bears of any species that humans are the pathway to food. And black bears do occasionally attack people. With a bad berry crop up here, black bears will lean more and more toward human sources for food. I don't mean eating people, but visiting garages for dog food, bird feeders for sunflower, trash dumps, garbage cans and, of course, food packs of wilderness canoeists. The more they come to associate people with food, the more confrontations there will be.

Back in the mid 90s, a berry failure brought bears out of the woodwork, as far west in Minnesota as the edges of the Red River Valley. Back then, I saw pictures of bears sitting in ripe barley fields stripping grain from the stalks. Sheesh. Bears outstanding in their fields!

[SFBOY]

many of the "problem bears" will be taken care of in 10 days. this is the first really good year for bear hunting in quite awhile and the success rate should be extremely high. my buddies had two different large bears on camera that came into the one test bait they threw out two weeks ago. the cabin owners in the area that they are hunting, by 2 harbors, are wishing those guys much luck this coming season. they are tired of having their grills torn apart and their cabins chewed and scratched. i guess a bear is going to do whatever it takes to fatten up for the winter. best of luck to those guys going out this year. with the perfect baiting conditions, it makes me wish that i would have applied for a permit this fall.

[cloyd]

your right catfish..focused mainly on browns etc.

bears are bears though black bears are alil more mellow than yer average kodiak my post was to make the point that the food source of bears in minnesota have taken a hard hit an they are in search of food

was very intersting as I watched this on national geographic channel not that long ago

the kodiaks had become extremely agressive an wandering into public noticeably more an the study started after folks were attacked

drought bieng the cause...streams hit hard..lack of fish an other food sources

just found it an intersting tidbit that also applies to black bears bieng were into a drought type scenario an i know up north where i go hunting bears have been a problem lately as well..gardens,garbages,raiding campgrounds more an more

they just lookin for food

but like any wild animal..caution an respect should always be given