Gorilla Stands Recalls EXO-Tech Safety Harness

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Gorilla Inc have announced a recall of the fall restraint system “EXO-Tech Safety Harness”.

The webbing of the waist belt on the safety harness is not routed through the lineman’s loop located on the front of the harness near waist level. Since the loops are not properly anchored to the harness webbing but are attached only through stitching not intended to restrain a user during a fall, they that can pull away from the harness when force is applied, leaving the user unrestrained.

Anyone that has this system should stop using it and contact Gorilla Inc about a refund.

: For additional information, contact Gorilla Inc. at (877) 685-7817 between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.gorillatreestands.com. Consumers can also write to the firm at Gorilla, Inc., P.O. 378, Flushing, MI., 48433 or 3475 Eastman Drive, Flushing, MI. 48433.

Bull Elk #21 Poached Inside Great Smokey Mountain National Park

Park Rangers discovered the body of Bull Elk 21, part of the experimental elk herd that’s been introduced to the Smoky Mountain National Park, in one of the meadows. Investigators have already identified a suspect and an arrest is believed to be eminent.

The suspect in the shooting was found through witnesses’ descriptions of a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche that was seen leaving the area. A National Park Service special agent then located the suspect at his home in Granville County, according to the press release. Park spokesman Bob Miller said it is not policy to release the name of the special agent involved.
Miller said the suspect’s name will be released when charges against him are filed with the U.S. Attorney. Charges should come by the end of the week, he said.
The suspect could be charged with a number of different things including taking of wildlife in a national park or possession of a weapon, said Miller.
He did not know what kind of weapon the suspect used.
Anyone convicted of poaching in national parks can face a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail.

Knox News

I travel into the valley a few times a year to see the elk and photograph them. This photograph was one I took of the #21 Bull on my last trip in the Cataloochee Valley. The killing of this bull is such a waste and I hope they throw the book at this poacher.

Accidental Fall From Tree Makes Opening Day In Allegany County Bitter Sweet

He laid in a crumpled mess at the base of the tree just moments before he had been 30 feet up it on the opening morning of the muzzleloader season. He had some luck and he still had his cell phone if he could only get his son who was hunting nearby he could get help. Cell service reception is tricky in these parts so getting a signal was his only hope.

CJ woke to the sound of his boys that were anxious to go deer hunting. The alarmed failed to go off but the boys weren’t going to let their Dad sleep through the opening day of deer season. They rushed around and got loaded up and headed for the hunting lease. A couple of close calls on the road with deer crossing were a pretty good sign because they knew the deer were moving.

As a hunter safety instructor and a Dad hunting safety is something CJ constantly stressed with his boys. The tradition of hunting had been passed down through the generations in their family. CJ growing up in New York and the proud hunting heritage passed down through the men he met as a boy in the Adirondack hunting camps. This had come a full circle as CJ’s sons are now learning about hunting the heritage, traditions and the important lessons of safety.

The sound of the 54 Caliber CVA Bobcat cracked across the mountain as the bullet found its mark dropping the buck in his tracks. CJ heard the shot and he was certain it was his son Bud. Cj was hopeful as he dug out the radio to call Bud and see if he was successful. The radio crackled back with Bud’s response “Dead on impact” CJ was excited this was Bud’s first muzzleloader deer as he prepared to climb out of the stand to go help him.

It had been a while since the fall…maybe an hour… but the cell phone had work and now help was on the way. A son now raced to get help to save his father’s life. Because of all the rain Ida had dumped back country travel was difficult at best. He met the first EMT on the road and he climbed on the back of the 4 wheeler with his jump kit as they raced back up the mountain to the accident scene. The sounds of sirens now filled the air as rescuers began to gear up for what they hoped was a life saving mission.
The sound of the fast moving 4 wheeler and sirens attracted CJ and his boys they intercepted the 4 wheeler going up the mountain and that is when they discovered that Chris’s dad had fallen out of the tree and was seriously injured. Chris continued up the mountain as CJ went down to load additional rescuers and equipment on his jeep to get them to the scene.

Chris was home on leave from the Marines due to ship out soon for Afghanistan. The plans to enjoy a day of hunting with his Dad had taken an ugly turn. Now an all out effort by hunters and rescuers to get Rick Lyons out of the woods and to the hospital was all anyone would focus on because Rick’s life depended on them working together to get him off the mountain.
CJ knew kind of the general area where the stand was but not the exact location so there was some anxious moments as they arrived in the area. “We’ve got to get there he is having difficulty breathing” one of the rescuer’s stated CJ stopped and got out and yelled and they got a response so they could pin point the location.

Much of what happened after that is a bit of a blur but a pickup truck was able to get in there and Rick was loaded on it and taken out. Almost three hours after it began the rescue helicopter took off to airlift Rick to Johnson City Tennessee.

Rick remains hospitalized with multiple broken bones including vertebra’s in his neck and back, ribs, shoulder, and a broken leg. Please keep Rick in your prayers that he’ll make a full recovery from this horrible accident.
CJ called me last night and told me this story. He said it was pretty hard day hunting because they were excited about Bud getting his first deer with a muzzleloader and the joy was short lived when the accident happened. The use of a safety belt / fall restraint system could have reduced the level of injuries and possible prevented the accident entirely. So guys wear your safety belts.

Massive Black Bear Killed In North Carolina

The second all time heaviest bear in North Carolina was taken this week and most likely the heaviest black bear any hunter in North America will take this year. This bear tipped the scales (certified) at 760 lbs making it the largest bear any hunter has taken while hunting with Conman’s Guide Service in Creswell North Carolina.

As I write this story I don’t have a lot of details but I’ll give you what I know so far. The hunter is Noel Harvey and the bear was taken on November 9th which I believe was the opening day of the bear season. The guide service is Conman’s and Mike Noles runs the business with his wife Connie (thus the name Conman’s). I’ve known them for a number of years and have hunted with them a number of times.

In April of 2008 I did a story on Bruiser Bruins in the Old North State featuring two massive bears that Mike had walking on his land. One of them they named “Maximus” and they estimate he could be 800 or more pounds. This bear that was killed this week by Noel Harvey is not one of those two bears. That is unbelievable when you think about it that there is a few of these massive creatures walking around. A black bear this size is bigger than a lot of the brown bears you see out west. That is just amazing when you think about it.

The hunting style for the most part is stand hunting over travel routes and food plots. Baiting of bears is only legal for those hunters who utilize hounds ( crazy rule) and Conman’s does not use hounds.
I hopefully will get a few more details on the hunt and hopefully a few more photos of this magnificent creature when I get back in from my own hunting adventures.

North Carolina Wildlife Federation Calls on Governor Perdue to Clean Up North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Appointments

The State Board of Elections concluded their hearings last week into the former Governor’s administration turning it over to the district attorney’s office because it appears state laws were violated. As part of the hearings allegations that seats on the Wildlife Commission were up for sale was testified to under oath. Now the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has passed a resolution asking the current Governor to fix this problem;

THE NORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE FEDERATION CALL TO UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE WILDLIFE RESOURCES COMMISSION AND THE PROCESS BY WHICH COMMISSIONERS ARE APPOINTED

WHEREAS sworn testimony in the recent hearings of the Board of Elections regarding irregularities in the Mike Easley for Governor Campaign of 2004 alleged that the appointment of certain commissioners to the Wildlife Resources Commission was predicated upon political donations of over $100,000; and,

WHEREAS Wildlife Commissioners serve a crucial and sensitive role as guardians of the fish and wildlife resources of North Carolina that demands the highest level of integrity and objectivity as they establish rules and policies to guide the agency in its mission to provide a sound and representative fish and wildlife conservation program; and,

WHEREAS the North Carolina Wildlife Federation was formed in 1945 on the premise that fish and wildlife conservation programs must be conducted in a manner beneficial to the resource and representative of citizens who value and enjoy outdoor recreational activities and was instrumental in the establishment of the Wildlife Resources Commission in 1947 based upon that principle; and,

WHEREAS the alleged circumstances of the appointment of certain North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Commissioners with an expectation of political contributions predicating the nomination is contrary to the law prohibiting the sale of office, erodes public confidence, and casts aspersion on the integrity and operations of the agency and its policy makers.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation condemns the practice of appointing Wildlife Commissioners based upon political considerations as contrary to the founding principles upon which the Wildlife Resources Commission was created, and calls for appointments to the Commission to be solely based on interest, concern, knowledge, and commitment to the natural resources of our State.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Wildlife Federation, on behalf of all sportsmen and fish and wildlife enthusiasts in North Carolina, calls upon Governor Beverly Perdue to use all the means at her disposal to determine the truth of the allegation that appointments to the Wildlife Resources Commission were made in return for political donations; and, if that allegation is substantiated thereby calling the integrity of the Wildlife Resources Commission into question, the Wildlife Federation further calls upon Governor Perdue to immediately demand the resignations of any individual who were appointed under such circumstances and to appoint duly qualified, representative citizens to serve out those replaced terms thereby restoring as much credibility to the current appointment process and structure of the Wildlife Commission as it and the mission it represents rightly deserves.

I hope sportsmen across the state will stand up and demand that the politics get removed from the Wildlife Commission.

Dog Hunting Declining Across the South East?

I’ll admit that I’ve never hunted deer with dogs but I’m hopefully going to get out on a dog hunt this season and see what it is all about. In the local newspaper this week Fred Bonner talks about the decline of this sport. This is the second article I’ve seen this season about this topic and it is sad to see a local cultural hunting tradition go by the wayside and the poor economy seems to be hasting its demise.

For the deer hunters who chose to have their hounds chase the deer the conditions couldn’t have been more ideal. It was damp enough that the deer’s scent hung close to the ground and it was cool enough to make it comfortable for both the hunters and the dogs.

That’s why I was surprised to find relatively few deer hunters out there with their dogs on the opening day of the season. Ordinarily we’d see truck after truck loaded with dog boxes, two-way radio antennas, tracking antennas and elevated stands lining the roads in the more rural areas Down east. I started to wonder just what was wrong here.

He goes on a bit later in the article to point out some of the pressures on this sport.

The national economy is playing a large part in having a change in the way deer hunters carry out their sport. This seems to be particularly true in the case of the deer hunters who choose to hunt with the aid of dogs.

Dog owners who formerly owned several trained deer hounds found the price of keeping these dogs was getting really expensive. Between the price of dog food and the medications that keep the dog healthy the hunters simply found themselves in a financial pinch. When it comes down to a choice between feeding and keeping healthy their families versus several large hunting dogs, the families won out.

Garner News

Dog hunting is a long standing tradition in this part of the country and it would be a shame if that tradition was to be lost. Even hunters like myself who don’t use hounds to hunt deer should tread lightly as dog hunters get squeezed out because we could be next. I realize that there are issues around the use of hounds. Most often conflict arises when the dogs get off the land they are suppose to be on and run on land they are not suppose to be. Unfortunately the hunters causing the conflicts are often the ones that draw the most attention and thus cause negative prejudices against this hunting tradition.
Read the whole article Fred Bonner wrote and see if you can learn a little bit about this tradition. I hope to get out an experience a hound hunt this season and I’ll report back here on my experience.

Guest Blog Post From Michael Waddell / Calling Elk Bow-Close

The following is a guest blog post from fellow hunter and writer Michael Waddell. Michael just this week announced that he will be a regular writer and contributor to Peterson’s Hunting. I’ve had the honor of meeting him a number of years ago here in Raleigh at the Scope Show and it is an honor to have him post on MooseDroppings

Whether hunting public or private land, the fundamentals of calling elk remain the same.
Calling Elk Bow-Close
Michael Waddell

We heard the bull bugle at first light and snuck into his core area. When I hit a lick on my bugle, the bull simply came unglued and stormed our position like a tank, crashing through brush and small lodgepole pines like they were matchsticks. Before we could react he was in our lap and we were pinned down, me hiding behind a camera, too scared to touch the tripod for fear my shaking hands would ruin the footage. All I could see of my partner wedged against a stunted pine was the tip of his undrawn arrow quivering on the rest. Before a shot presented itself, the bull smelled a rat and disappeared as quickly as he arrived. While this experience didn’t result in a dead elk, it did hopelessly addict me to calling them.

It seems that in all walks of life, be it the animal kingdom or humans, communication is a key ingredient for all social interaction. However, not all living things communicate to the same degree. If you ask my wife, I am sure she will tell you I am lacking in the communication department; in fact, I’m sure she believes I don’t listen to her at all, but when it comes to communicating with animals I can barely shut up. Of all the animals I love to communicate with, elk rate right at the top.

By nature, elk are very vocal. The uninitiated often simply think of bulls bugling, but cows, calves and bulls make all sorts of noises year-round. If you encounter a large herd, while you might not hear anything from a distance, if you get close you will hear lots of subtle vocalization. Most of the time these are sounds of contentment, but depending on what’s happening the vocalization reflects it. Elk can convey contentment, danger, curiosity or a cow in heat. Bulls, for instance, only bugle primarily in the rut, but they also communicate to establish a pecking order. After spending a considerable amount of time chasing the mighty wapiti, I’m convinced every elk in the herd knows each other by sound alone. This happens with the cows as well as the bulls, and based on my evaluation, somewhere in this mix is the deadly secret to calling elk bow-close.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery
It seems that the more vocal a herd, the better the odds are for success at calling them. Some cows call subtly, while others are loud-mouth ladies actively looking for a date. By listening, it gives you a better opportunity to imitate the particular tones and intensity of the herd.

By calling, we are automatically intruding into the social club without an invitation. The closer we can sound to a known elk and match that intensity, the better the odds are of filling a tag. Even though we may sound like an outsider to the herd, luckily for us, love-crazed bulls are not looking to be intimate with just one or two cows; they are looking for all the love of every cow in the world, so taking advantage of their sexual frustrations and promiscuity is our salvation.

It doesn’t take a world champion elk caller to trick bulls within range. By simply paying attention to the herd and understanding simple elk rhythm, tone and, more important, volume when calling, a hunter can depend on an elk call to be a valuable asset to dulling broadheads.

Public Versus Private Land
Since I started hunting elk 16 years ago, on private as well as public ground, I’ve realized comparing these two different types of ground is like comparing night and day, and it is all about the amount of pressure each receives. Generally speaking, private ground bulls are way easier to call than public ground animals, but this is not always the case. Some private land gets a lot of pressure, which can make for some pretty tough calling duels with elk that can serve you up a humble pie every time you bust out a call. Conversely, some public land, either through sheer remoteness or hard-to-get tags, is like calling the best private land in the nation.

Hunting untouched land and cow calling to bulls that have never heard a Hoochie Mama would obviously be nice. It wouldn’t take long working over these uneducated elk to start feeling like an elk-calling pro, only to be deflated the first time we went to the national forest and mixed it up with bulls so well known by local hunters that they have nicknames. However, regardless of where you hunt, the basics of calling remain the same.

Start with mastering the cow call and all its various inflections. Your basic reed-type calls are the easiest to learn as well as get proficient with. You will find two kinds; both are bite-down reed-type calls, one being enclosed and the other having an open reed or reeds. These calls make a very realistic sound and before your wife can run you out of the house you will master the basics.

I rely heavily on the cow call and think most of the time hunters are better off sticking with it over a bugle no matter where they are hunting. However, learning how to make a basic bugle is important, especially for locating bulls at a distance before getting close and working him with your cow call. In addition, sometimes it is the bugle that finally provokes a dominant bull to commit, especially during the early season when bulls are still sorting out their pecking order.

Earning Your Public Ground Ph.D
Let’s face it, unless you have deep pockets much of the private ground in the West is pretty much off limits, so you have to learn to hunt public land. This is not a bad thing, as public ground comprises millions upon millions of acres across the West and happens to have some of the biggest bulls found anywhere. While it can be tougher than private, once you learn how to hunt it you won’t be disappointed. Over the years one of my favorite places to hunt is the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, and even though this is a trophy area, tags are fairly obtainable through application.

In the Gila, the trophy potential is off the chart, sporting some of the biggest bulls in the country, but just because the big ones live there doesn’t mean that you automatically make one call and they come running to get in the back of your truck. These mature jokers have a Ph.D in avoiding hunters.

Over the last six years I have hunted this area religiously and have had the opportunity to shoot some nice bulls, all by using elk calls as an aid to close the coffin.

Notice I said, “as an aid,” meaning the call was just one thing in a bag of tricks to help smoke these monarchs. My biggest bull that came out of the Gila was a 378 P&Y bull that earned the name The Professor because he always seemed to take you to school when you applied too much pressure. However, this bull was vocal and would bugle his butt off. He also seemed to be fairly easy to find, not only by his gnarly, raspy bugle that set him apart, but frequently he could be found early in the morning in a large meadow just south of a particular water hole that always attracted a large herd.

The Professor was not the only bull in the area that had large headgear, but it was the Professor that seemed to call the shots. I had caught this bull in the open several times, but calling seemed to really make him uneasy when you were in close. However, he would bugle hard to distant cow calls and seemed to be whole heartedly interested, but he had a sixth sense when you moved in for the attack.

Finally, we decided to have a caller stay behind as we worked him coming off the meadow at daybreak. By doing this we could keep him interested and bugling as we stalked in closer. The caller always was no closer than 80 yards behind me. While the caller kept him occupied, I slid within 50 yards and gave him a G5 Tekan right behind the shoulder. This hunt was really a stalk, but the call and caller had a big part to do with his demise. Once we started quartering the bull, we found a piece of an old arrow lodged just below the backstraps, so obviously someone had him in close before and gave the teacher an education, which explained why he was so wary.

The Double Team
As this old bull showed, hunting with a partner can work extremely well. It not only puts the hunter out in front of the call, it gives the hunter a chance to move and adjust the angle based on where the bull might be approaching. Likewise, the caller has the flexibility to move and apply a lot of different calling techniques.

The double-team plan worked again on another hunt. It had been hot, and the bulls were only bugling early and late. As soon as the sun would rise the elk woods would turn into a ghost town.

Just after daybreak on the fourth day of our hunt we heard this bull bugle. He hit it only two times, both very weak. He sounded like the littlest rag horn in the land, but with no other game in town we went after him. Getting as close as possible to where we thought the bugle came from, I eased up and sat down by a pine stump while my buddy moved back and to my right about 40 yards.

Neither of us was very optimistic about our chances. My buddy made one or maybe two very soft cow calls on a two-reed diaphragm, then he started raking a tree and rolled a few rocks. We sat there for possibly 10 minutes in silence, then out of nowhere appeared a wide 6×6 coming directly to us.

At 25 yards the bull let out a soft chuckle, looked over his surrounding, and kept walking in the direction of where the last rock had been rolled, which led him 16 steps from my pine stump. By now I was at full draw, waiting for a broadside shot. When the arrow left my bow, I knew we had killed a call-shy monster by keeping it low-key and staying patient. Needless to say, I was never convinced by the two times he had bugled earlier that he was a shooter. This was a lesson in itself. Never judge a bugle until you can see what is making the sound.

The most exciting way to bag a bull elk is to get him in close, and the best way to do that is with a call. Confidence in your call is critical, because if you’re insecure about using your call, there is a good chance you will spook elk. Have confidence in your calling ability and become just another elk in the herd where you are hunting.

Find a call that works for you and not what works for someone else. Think like an elk and do as elk do. Realism, rhythm and volume control can make the difference between bringing them in or running them over the next ridge. Remember, it’s not always about calling. It can be about just patiently listening to the sounds around you and applying minimal calls while practicing good woodsmenship and stalking skills that could help you put that monster on the back of the truck.

Monster Buck Taken In Minnesota at Camp Ripley

Scott O’Konek has arrowed what is likely the new Minnesota State Record when he killed a 32 point buck while hunting at Camp Ripley.

The proof of O’Konek’s proficiency with a bow and arrow hangs on his walls, but his latest shot will more than likely land him in the record book.

“I was like, that thing is something else, ya know! I’ve never seen one that big,” O’Konek recalled.

On the first day of the special lottery archery hunt at Camp Ripley, he arrowed a 32-point, non-typical whitetail buck. One perfect arrow from 44 yards away.

The initial “green score” of the animal’s antlers, registered a score of 228.

If the buck’s scoring holds two months from now when the antlers are fully dried, O’Konek’s whitetail buck will be the largest non-typical rack ever taken by archery in Minnesota. It would score nearly two points higher than the current record holder.

WCCO

You’ve got to go check out the photo gallery on this buck that Field & Stream has set up. I’d probably fall out of the tree if I saw this bad boy walking towards me. Congratulations to Scott on taking a really nice buck.

Bad Economy Hits Deer Hunters?

Downeast where the deer season is in full swing reports of empty campgrounds and not many hunters on the Game Lands may be a result of the bad economy. These areas are prime dog hunting areas where the thick cover is difficult to hunt without the aid of a deer hound.
Outdoor writer Mike Marsh reported on this in the Star News this week getting the following quote from Vic French biologist with North Carolina Wildlife Commission.

“People can’t afford to go hunting,” he said. “A lot of the hunters who used to keep dogs don’t do it any longer. People who used to drive here to hunt are staying closer to home or doing other things that are less expensive.”

Mike further reports that the Game Land’s Campground was virtually empty when in the past it would be full.

With unemployment running in double digits and many folks getting laid off I think people have scaled back on hunting expenses. I think many will still hunt but they are apt to hunt closer to home. I have not had anyone tell me they are not hunting this year so I’m not sure why such a drastic drop seems to be happening down east especially on Game Lands where rising lease costs would not factor in for hunters there.

It will be interesting to see what the harvest numbers look like at the end of the season because many folks I believe will need to kill some deer to make ends meet. I think a deer that may of gotten a pass in previous years may find itself on the dinner table feeding hungry folks.

North Carolinian Johnny Morris Wins Bid For Idaho’s First Wolf Tag

Johnny Morris ,the founder of Bass Pro Shops, bid $8000 to be the first to get a wolf tag for the state of Idaho. Idaho is allowing 6 tags to be auctioned off by sportsman / conservation groups with the proceeds going to wolf restoration. The first tag was auctioned off by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation AP is reporting that Johnny Morris plans to give the tag to his son who already has a hunt planned for Idaho.

Bear Population Soars In Mountains So Does Conflicts

The Southern Appalachian Bear Study Group reports a record year for bears in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Frank Van Manen, research ecologist with the University of Tennessee and chairman of the study group, said one indication of the expanding population is that bears have moved out of the mountains into areas like Piedmont in North Carolina and northern Alabama that haven’t traditionally been identified as bear habitat.
“Wildlife agencies have been incredibly successful in their bear recovery efforts,” Van Manen said. “Now, perhaps we’re dealing with the aftermath of that, with black bears moving into areas they’ve never been, or haven’t been in decades.”

KnoxNews

Conflicts with bears have also increased which is not surprising. Reports of bears killing livestock like the sow with cubs that killed a flock of chickens this past summer or the bear this week that killed a llama that was guarding a flock of sheep are somewhat unusual.

Marian Sigmon said she was taking her cat out about 6:45 a.m. when she heard the llama scream in the pasture, where the 6-foot-tall animal was stationed as a guard animal for Shetland sheep.
Sigmon and her husband, Robert, were able to chase the bear away to the edge of the pasture on Jones Cove Road. The llama was euthanized because its injuries were so severe.

Citizens Times

Conflicts with humans will naturally increase as bears move into new areas or areas with higher concentrations of humans. While with some species carrying capacity of the land is important with bears it seems that the cultural capacity is paramount.

Van Manen said that while the region may be biologically capable of supporting even more bears, it’s clear that in some areas, the population has reached its cultural capacity as determined by people’s willingness to tolerate bears visiting their bird feeders or breaking into their homes.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will have to make some decisions as bear human conflicts increase.
I assume that part of tomorrow’s free lecture at NC Wildlife on Centennial Campus will cover that aspect of bear management. Educating humans about living in bear territory and those who now find themselves in bear territory can help but how much they’ll tolerate bears is just as important. Bears for the most part will avoid confrontations with humans but they are predators and will make the most of any opportunities they have. Fatal attacks on humans are rare but not unheard of.
I like bears and hope to see them continue to increase however in the more populated areas of the Piedmont and the Triangle I’m not sure it’s too good of an idea to see them in those parts of the state.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Colleen Offenbuttel will be presenting a free lecture on Black Bear Research and Management in North Carolina this month. The lecture will be held on Wednesday the 14th of October at the Centennial Campus at 4pm.

Want to Learn About Bears & Bear Management in North Carolina?

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Colleen Offenbuttel will be presenting a free lecture on Black Bear Research and Management in North Carolina this month. The lecture will be held on Wednesday the 14th of October at the Centennial Campus at 4pm.

“Black Bear Research and Management in North Carolina: 1970s Through the Present” will examine the modern era of black bear management. Olfenbuttel will discuss projects and cooperative agreements with various universities, including N.C. State University; research on the demographics of the bear population and how monitoring efforts provide a basis for making sound management decisions; and adopting regulations to benefit bear populations and habitats.

North Carolina has bears mostly concentrated in the west and the eastern part of the state but bears are apt to pop up almost anywhere in the state as the population expands. The bears in eastern North Carolina can grow to some massive sizes as you can see by the photo I posted. Earlier this summer I talked with Mike Noles of Conman’s Guide Service and as far as he knows this bear Maximus is still walking around. Mike offers stand hunts for bears but the most common method for hunting bears down east is with hounds.
As the human population expands and the bear population does as well what will NCWRC response be to deal with the conflicts that will arise. We’ve already seen some issues in the mountains, the Piedmont, and right here in the triangle.

The Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education is located at 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh.

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