Maximus Bite
June 25, 2008
Photo Courtesy of Mike Noles
Back in April Mike Noles from Conman’s Guide Service shared with me some photos of a monster bruin he had on one of his places in the Eastern part of North Carolina. They are calling this bruin Maximus and he will likely tip the scales at over 800lbs.
This past weekend I was down at Conman’s for our annual fishing trip and our wild game cookout. Almost as soon as I saw Mike he told me he had something I just had to see.
Saturday morning a few of us piled in Mike’s truck and he drove us into Maximus territory, some of the thickest overgrown swamp land that was ideal cover for bears. What I saw next was jaw dropping when I saw the first tree that had been marked by Maximus.
This is a bite on a tree and given the size and the height there is little doubt this was done by a very large bear. There was a number of these bites throughout the area, Mike believes that there is at least one if not two other sizeable bears using this same area and probably why we saw so much bear markings.
Here is a video that I ran across that explains a little bit about bear tree bites.
Although we never saw Maximus I did see a 200-250 lb bear early on Saturday morning. My attempts to get close enough to him to get some photos did not work so you’ll have to settle for a photo of his track on the dirt road.
The wildfire is having a lot of impact on everyone and everything in the area. The good news is that the fire never spread in this area to this land although the impact is still being felt with many critters being forced on to new land, crowding of the species, heavy smoke, and drought conditions. The roadblock for the fire line is right at the end of Conman’s Guide Service driveway.
With the long term prospect of the Pocosin fuel burning for a long time till the land is soaked or flooded to extinguish it. Food and cover will be an issue for the foreseeable future until the fire is out and life can return to normal in the burn area.
I did not ask Mike if they have any bear hunts open for this year but I’m sure you can give him a call and find out.
Story & Photos (unless otherwise credited) by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, Ill explore new places and ideas Ill learn new things and Ill teach the things Ive learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
At least he’s marking trees. We’ve had bears tear apart our deer stands. They seem to like pressure treated lumber.
BTW, you video is set to auto-play when the page loads, which is a bit disconcerting.
800 pounds of black bear is just flat insane! Especially for us Westerners – it’s hard to even fathom! Love the photos – We see a lot of those bite marks and claw marks on trees around here, but none to that extent!
Mike,
I’m scheduled to hunt with you in November and I want a crack at Maximus.
Noel
Hey guys thanks for the comments; Greg thanks for the heads up on that video I hadn’t noticed it auto playing but that is a bit annoying. I took it off and put a link up to prevent that.
Tom you scared of an 800lb black bear? LOL I think I might be as well. I took my last black bear from a ground blind at 9 feet with a muzzleloader of course he was much smaller. I don’t believe I’d take that shot on Maximus.
Noel thanks for stopping by and hopefully Mike will stop by as well. Mike has a number of good bears on his property even if you and Maximus don’t cross paths. I wonder how good a Maximus roast would be? Bear meat is real good but I don’t know if a bear that big if it would effect the quality of the meat.
-Moose-
Hey Moose, great site.
From the look of the pictures I bet Maximus has more blubber than meat. He looks like a sumo wrestler. Would love to take him, but from a distance…
If you see Mike give him my best wishes for the safety of his family.
Noel
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