There’s no denying that an aura of majesty surrounds a bull moose browsing in a spruce-rimmed bog. Likewise, a buck deer lying statue-still in an alder swamp while hunters pass only a few yards away is a study in wiliness and sagacity. But to many sportsmen, the most wary and interesting game animal inhabiting the Maine woods is the black bear.

Shy and reclusive, the black bear is symbolic of wilderness, or more accurately, what’s left of it nowadays. Appropriately enough, Maine, this country’s last vestige of wilderness east of the Mississippi River, is home to a healthy and stable population of bears. But like many wildlife species now proliferating in this country, Maine’s bear resource was conserved and increased by sound professional management programs funded by sportsmen’s money. There, again, is an example of the importance of regulated hunting to the science of wildlife management.

The impact of hunting on Maine’s bear population has been monitored by mandatory registration data since 1969. But in realizing the need for long-term research to provide data on bear population dynamics and behavior, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife initiated its Bear Study Project in 1975. Since then, the project’s studies and programs have provided information essential to bringing the state’s bear population to the threshold of the department’s management objective of 21,000 animals – while providing ample hunting opportunities.

Maine’s spring bear hunt, however, was ended in 1981 when Glenn Manuel, then commissioner of DIFW, ordered an emergency closure of the hunt as a conservation measure. But many outfitters, guides, and hunters argued the measure was ineffective because the majority of bears shot during the spring hunt were males.

Hunts add millions to economy

Naturally, as interest in bear hunting increased, so did its economic value to the state. Currently, about 10,000 hunters, resident and nonresident, purchase bear permits. There is no restriction on the amount of permits issued. According to a report published in 1991 by the University of Maine’s Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, a 1988 survey showed bear hunting bagged $6.4 million for the state.

In that regard, DIFW records show more than 60 percent of the bears tagged during recent hunting seasons were registered by nonresident hunters, most of whom hired outfitters and guides to direct their hunts. Considering the involvement of motels, restaurants, sports shops, stores, it’s obvious that the benefits of bear hunting are as far-ranging as the animals: bears roam throughout 26,215 square miles of Maine woodlands, about 86 percent of the state’s land area.

Maine’s current three-month bear season includes: four weeks of hunting over baits beginning on the last Monday in August; seven weeks of hunting with hounds beginning in late September; still hunting and stalking from late August to late November. In 1995, the bear-trapping season was expanded to a five-week period beginning in late September. Accordingly, the DIFW has established the following dates for the 1996 bear season: baiting season, Aug. 26-Sept. 21; hunting with hounds, Sept. 9-Nov. 1; still hunting and stalking, Aug. 26-Nov. 30; trapping, Sept. 22-Oct. 31.

In addition to regular Maine hunting licenses, bear hunters are required to purchase permits ($5 residents, $15 nonresidents) for hunting bears before the opening of the firearms deer season. But deer hunters may shoot bears legally without purchasing permits. Not surprisingly, the subject raises as much controversy among hunters, guides, and outfitters as discussions about guns and dogs.

Baiting best, but controversial

Another subject of controversy, largely societal, is the hunting of bears over baits. As usual, though, the majority of contentions come from people who have never hunted bears and whose conceptions of “bait hunting” are totally off-target. Obviously, it’s easier for a hunter to shoot a bear attracted to a bucketful of “grain and grease” or jelly doughnuts – stale pastries are productive baits – than it is to set his sights on one running a race with hounds. But the oft-heard stories about bears throwing caution to the winds and charging in to stick their heads into buckets of bait like pigs at a trough are about as accurate as buckshot.

By nature, bears are extremely wary. Therefore, guides describe the “black ghost’s” approach to baits as quiet and cautious, all the while sniffing suspiciously and looking and listening intently. The slightest movement or sound from a waiting hunter will spook a bear from a bait site; and so swift and silent is the animal’s retreat, the hunter may not realize it was near. Although it’s true that most bears are shot over baits – of the total 2,645 bears registered in 1995, 2,020 were taken over baits – wildlife biologist Craig McLaughlin, the DIFW’s bear project leader, said baiting had no negative impact on the department’s bear-management goals.

Not surprisingly, there is some conflict among bait-hunt and hound-hunt guides. Bait-hunt guides contend that hound hunters frequently start their dogs at bait sites. Hound-hunt guides counter that, because of the amount of baits set nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to run their hounds without being in the vicinity of baits, where bear scent often is strong.

“Hound hunts” resulted in a total of 329 bears tagged last year. The total of bears registered by late-season hunters – generally incidental to deer hunting – was an unusually low 104. The latter figure fluctuates with the availability of feed, which determines when bears seek dens for the winter months. Trappers registered 25 bears in 1995.

DIFW records show that most bears are shot over baits early in the season. Last fall, however, hunter success was exceptionally high because bears responded well to baits after the summer’s drought reduced the availability of natural feed. That also accounts for the unusual number of bear sightings last summer, when reports of the animals rummaging in rural home trash containers were common.

Hunter success declined rapidly, however, when bears, realizing natural food was scarce, went to dens early to conserve body reserves that would sustain them through their long winter’s sleep. According to McLaughlin, many “research bears” – females to which radio collars were attached after live capture – went to dens by early October.

Few weigh more than 200 pounds

Another misconception regarding black bears is their size. On average, male black bears (boars) will weigh 150-170 pounds, give or take; females (sows) usually tip the scales at 130 pounds or thereabouts. Now and then, hunters bag 300- and 400-pounders, but bears that weigh more than 200 pounds are the exception, not the rule. The Maine record black bear was registered in September of 1993 when Richard Moore of Allentown, Pa., shot a 680-pound boar while hunting with hounds in the Thousand Acre Bog area near Patten. Moore was guided by Dick Higgins of North Ridge Guide Service in Presque Isle.

Surely, bear hunting can be described as exciting. But adjectives such as “amazing” and “fascinating” are accurate descriptions of the animals themselves.

In midwinter, usually late January, black bear cubs are born blind and nearly hairless. Normally, a sow’s first pregnancy produces one or two cubs. Subsequent pregancies usually result in two or three offspring. It’s debatable whether a dormant sow – bears are not true hibernators – awakens during birth. Craig McLaughlin, however, who has crawled into more than a few dens to check research bears, believes the sow awakens. He refers to the cleaning of the cubs and elimination of placentas. During their period of dormancy, which may span six months, bears develop anal plugs that are accumulations of cells and residues from their digestive tracts. Release of the plugs occurs at the time the animals leave their dens, usually about mid-April.

The diets of black bears consist mainly of a variety of mast, berries, roots, and plants. But because the animals are omniverous, they also consume insects, carrion, and meat found in household refuse. Regarding the latter, town dumps are visited regularly by bears. Although bears kill a small number of newborn fawns and other mammals, they are not habitual predators and, therefore, are not serious threats to wildlife populations.

After leaving their dens, boars range far and wide while searching for food, but sows with cubs stay closer to home, so to speak. Sows perform their single-parent duties for about 16 months, teaching, guarding, and fiercely defending their offspring, which instinctively climb trees at the first sign of danger. The claws of cubs are well-developed at the time they leave their dens, enabling them to climb like squirrels. The family shares a den during the next winter, but come springtime the sow breaks the family bonds when she enters estrus in June or July. Sows, therefore, mate every other year.

Good memories

Simply put, bears have incredible memories. A remarkable example is a bear’s ability to return unerringly to a distant beech ridge it first visited as a cub guided by its mother – perhaps years earlier. Apparently, the trails and terrain covered on the trip were imprinted on the cub’s mind. In accordance with that, McLaughlin says research bears have left electronic tracks from LaGrange to beech ridges in the Katahdin Iron Works country, about 25 miles northwest as the crow flies.

Regarding food, it’s no secret that bears are fond of honey. But guides and biologists alike explain that in early June bears often invade hives to satisfy not only their sweet tooths, but to gorge on the highly nutritious insects that are in the larval stage at that time. Because of their destructiveness to beekeepers’ hives and other properties while rummaging for food, bears often are referred to as “nuisance bears.” It should be kept in mind, however, that the encroachment of civilization created those nuisances.

Although black bears are typically unaggressive animals, they are, nevertheless, unpredictable. For that reason, bears should not be fed or otherwise encouraged to visit areas inhabited by humans. Campgrounds, with attendant scents of cooked and uncooked foods, are open invitations for bears to come visiting. Therefore, every effort – keeping campsites clean, placing food in air-tight containers stored beyond the reach of bears – should be made to avoid encounters with the animals.

The adage, “Forewarned is forearmed,” applies to encounters with cubs. Granted, sightings of cubs can be exciting and entertaining, but the situations also can be dangerous. Make no mistake about it, Mama Bear is close by and one cry from a cub will bring her running with only thing in mind – eliminate the threat to her offspring. Anyone encountering cubs should give them a wide berth and vacate the premises, as they say.

Interesting and amazing animals, black bears. And thanks to sportsmen’s money and sound professional management, the environmentally and economically important wildlife resource is healthy and stable throughout Maine’s sprawling woodlands, this country’s last vestige of wilderness east of the Mississippi River.