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Grizzly vs. Black Bear at bait site question

rca81

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
Messages
9
Location
Idaho
I have a grizzly that has been hitting my bait site the last few nights. I'm hunting black bears so I was wondering now that the grizzly has hit the bait site if I'll be able to pull any black bears in. What do you think? How far do I need to move to get out of the grizzlies area?
 

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Yes they will work their back, but maybe not in a time frame that will help you.

I've seen the black bears take up residence in an active campground with a grizzly in the area.

I remember reading the experiences of biologist in N Idaho culvert trapping black bear for a study. Their experience was after trapping a grizzly you were done catching black bear in that trap until it was completely washed.

Also, black bear aside how do you use the site without getting yourself jammed up, either physically, or legally.

Given the spreading of the grizzly population, and their habit of showing up where they aren't supposed to be, you might have to move to Kansas to assure they aren't a problem.

Good picture, I wish we had trail camera's back in the day. Good bear, to bad it can't be harvested.
 
Yes, trap some blackies and bring them to kansas! I'd love to hunt bear here! It would be epic hunting prairie bears!

You keep the grizzlies
 
I promise you this. While I am still strong and can hold a rifle, there will never be a wild grizzly or packs of wolves in my state.
 
Never hunted with grizz in a bait type .But I hunt avalanche type chute in areas where there are both see them in same chutes co existing. What I have found when stalking them is that they are skitish with grizz around and I have even treed them, 6 foot type bears just by breaking brush and that is because i think they thought I was a grizz moving around. But I did baiting in AK and when a dominate bear was in another wouldnt, between blacks.I spent 3 wks trying to arrow this black with almost blue hue and he wouldnt come in with this other bear around,til I shot other bear, then he walked up and lay on log 40 yrd away. I videod it.
 
I have a grizzly that has been hitting my bait site the last few nights. I'm hunting black bears so I was wondering now that the grizzly has hit the bait site if I'll be able to pull any black bears in. What do you think? How far do I need to move to get out of the grizzlies area?


Your bears must look different than they do up here. That looks to me like a big FAT black bear.
 
I'm a hunters safety instructor and our liaison for Idaho fish & game told us at our last meeting not to be surprised if grizzly tags were issued within the next 3-5 years here in Idaho. We were fairly shocked to hear this as we are located in the southern central portion of the state so run ins with grizs are not something that happens in our neck of the woods.
 
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We've got so many brown/grizzly bears right around where I live I'm surprised that we still need to buy tags or have a closed season. We have a large enough population of bears to justify removal of the closed season and the tag requirement and possibly bump the season limit up to 2 brown/grizzly and 3 black bears.

Gus
 
I've seen blacks and grizz on the same bait site within minutes of each other. Sometimes as little as 5 minutes. I always laughed at the guys that told us that "when you get brown bears on your bait, forget about seeing blacks" maybe that's been their experience, but mine is opposite. My first to two black bears were killed off a site that grizzlies had previously occupied. I also killed a 6 1/2 footer in 2010 just a few minutes after chasing a brown off the bait. I'm guessing it has more to do with an individual bear's demeanor and overall aggression to protect a bait site. I commonly see big mean black bears aggressively defend a bait site from other bears.
 
I'm guessing it has more to do with an individual bear's demeanor and overall aggression to protect a bait site. I commonly see big mean black bears aggressively defend a bait site from other bears.

Likely correct.

Food supply, food type, age class, may be other factors. We don't have many grizzly so limited experience here. Maybe with more of them in the mix, the black bears know what they can get away with. A bear stuffed with food may, allow more liberties than one that's a bit desperate.

Big Black Bear definitely make their presence known at a site. The smaller bears will run in grab something and run off.
 
I have never baitind in Griz country but plan to this spring on some private land. From what I have heard and what I know about the 2 species, the black bears will be pretty cautious around that site until all sign of the griz is gone.. unfortunatley the griz too is a bear and he will now remember that food source and continue to come back from time to time unless he migrates out of the area.. I would say time to move bait a mile or 2
 
The grizzly here seems to have a bigger range than the black bear. Bait sites that previously didn't seem to compete for the same bear, started showing grizzly sign at each one. When the bear seemed to be in one corner of the area, the black bears trickled back in.

We covered our baits with natural material, black bear seem almost mannerly in removing the limbs and cover. Grizzly hits look like a grenade went off in the bait pile.

Signs of laying up on the bait until it's gone also appear. Big black bear never seemed to do this.

Most of what I suspect is guess work, I sure wish we had todays camera's, back then.

A couple of youtube video's show a little of the behavior we're talking about.

Bear Killing Bear
Grizzly chasing black bear
Scarface (Grizzly Bear) eats dinner
I keep swearing I'm going to learn posting links, sorry.

Like has been said season, mood, personality all play into it, ask Timothy Treadwell. I can't find it again, but there was a video showing a small sow with cubs, going nose to nose with a big boar on a bison carcass. He's full, tired and leaves it to her. Another day he might eat her and the cubs.
 
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