I hunt in central Kentucky in an area that has no bears, however one showed up on a trail cam on the property we hunt.
I know minimal about bears and have never seen one in the wild.
My opinion is that this is a juvenile male based on the prominence of his ears and the long look of his legs. Also, that fits with what I have read of bear behavior.
Kentucky has an increase of bears and has recently started a quota hunt in three (I think it is) eastern Kentucky counties. We are a long ways from there so there would be no options to hunt this guy here anyway but I would love to see him when I'm in a deer stand.
Here are three pictures for you to look at and let me know what you think.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/kyarcher76/Glove/CDY_0052.jpg)
Above is the best one and the only daylight shot.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/kyarcher76/Glove/CDY_0050.jpg)
From behind, he looks pretty broad.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/kyarcher76/Glove/CDY_0045.jpg)
What do you think?
I think you are right on.It looks like a boar.When the hair is short,size can fool you.The head looks good sized for a young bear.A summer bear can look much thinner than one with good hair.The only good way to get a good feel for size is to cut a stick 3' long and stand holding it exactly where the bear stood.Compare that picture to one of the bear and you can figure his height.34" is a big bear,probably 300# plus.32",250# or more.At first glance he doesn't look big but I just have never seen a 150# bear with a head like that.Find his height and you will have a good idea.
I've been studying trail camera pictures of bears for 15 years and it's hard to judge them from pictures but I have gotten to compare my estimates with several of the individual bears so it can be done you need at least an accurate height measurement to tell.
Ditto, young bear. Long legs, prominent ears, long snout. Boar? I have no idea.
There is no animal that has ground shrinkage like a bear. I was talking to the guy who registers bears during the season in Northern Wisconsin and he said the average bear brought in was 125#'s. I would guess that most of those 125#'ers were judged as 250#'s the moment before they were shot. No doubt their height is a good indication but for me I'd rather look at how close to the ground their belly is when walking - biggest bear I ever saw in the wild couldn't have been more than 3-4" up from the ground and actually swayed back and forth when he walked.
Not an expert on bears - especially big bears. I'm from the south and have seen alot of Georgia and Florida bears and ours tend to be alot smaller so size gets skewed for me sometimes. He does look young but not necessarily really small. Maybe just a decent young adult? Maybe if he frequents the same spot on your camera you could tie a small piece of flagging tape at a height that you know so you could get a reference for height. Just make sure its close to where he comes through so the flagging is not in the foreground or background and messes up your point of reference. Maybe he'll come through again! I really like seeing them. There has been a huge increase in the bear population in the south and I think it's really cool.
I'm not a bear expert....but I did stay at a Holiday Express one time. . . . Having bears around, and the maybe chance to see one while hunting is a real priviledge. Hope you get to see him.
ChuckC
Thanks guys. Population is increasing in KY but in my area they are still a novelty. The property I hunt is 250 acres of mostly pasture with a grown-up farm adjoining.
Would love to see this guy one morning.
I'm no expert but have seen my share in the woods....my guess would be 125-150....leaning toward 125.
Cool. Hope you get to see him again.
One thing I learned about black bears when I was working for my outfitter friend last year...I had always believed that one could at least somewhat tell the age of a bear by its size...we were talking with a resources officer one day and she told us she has recently shot a nuisance bear that was healthy and only weighed about a hundred pounds...she sent a tooth in for aging and it came back at 5 years...all depends on genetics and growing season...that bear would be a very reasonable one to take for a first bear with traditional tackle
DDave
"I hunt in central Kentucky in an area that has no bears"
You mean HAD no bears. I hope you get to seem him in person.
Not a bear expert, we do not have a Bear hunting season in Florida..but I have a few bear pics. first is mom with big (2 year old??) cubs. 2nd pic is a young bear that I think is a male? (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/WGI_0154_zpsf978d5cb.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/WGI_0154_zpsf978d5cb.jpg.html) (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/071.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/071.jpg.html)
I have noticed that male bears have a little "goatee" on their chin. I have never seen a female with that little tuft of hair under the chin. The Kentucky bear appears to have the goatee.
Thanks guys. Lots of good info here. I knew I could count on the gang for help!!!
Kentucky now has a quata hunt for bears in four counties in the extreme eastern part of the state. That is the only place you can take them in the state. The quota is ten bears of five female bears and you have to call in each morning to check and see if the quota has been met. No chance of taking this bear where he is but it would be really cool to get to see him under the stand.
Deer season opens September 7th here. I'm guessing he'll be gone by then.
It is very difficult for anyone other than you to give their opinions from pictures without some more information like that large tree behind the bear-what is the diameter of it and how far behind the bear is it? Also, how far from the bait/bear is the camera?
Have my own opinions of this bear but will wait to say them after you answer my questions. All I would say is that is not a "juvenile" male IMO. I consider "juvenile" male bear to be less than 3 years old.
Yes, a stick of a known measurement installed in the ground by your bait will help a lot in size indentity.
There is no reason for this bear to not still be feeding on your bait in another month unless there is another easy to get, plentiful food source for him.
Kelly,
I can't answer all of your questions for the simple reason that I haven't been to the stand since the camera was set. It belongs to the nephew of the owner. He sent me the pics so I would be aware while I was out there. Based on the "scenery" I would say that the bear is five yards away from the camera but that's only a guess. The ladder stand is about ten fee behind where the camera is and slightly left of it.
The largest tree in the pictures behind the bear is a white oak that is about 12 inches diameter. I'm guessing the bear is five yards in front of the tree based on proximity to the grape vine.
To me the bear in the first pic looks skinny and small. The bear in the last pic looks larger. Are you sure it's the same bear? Hard to tell in that last pic because it's so dark.
Just don't feed him any corn. You won't be able to get rid of him.
We are starting to see them along the Mississippi River Parishes/Counties. They say in about three years they may have quota hunts
Juneau,
I suppose it's possible that there are more than one, but I didn't think they travelled in packs!!!!
I've hunted this property for over ten years and never seen so much as a track before now. We've had game cameras out for the last three or four years and this is the first time we've had one on the camera. I'm pretty confident there is only one. I was sent five pictures. All were on the same date and it was like he kept coming back. Could it be a sow with a young cub(s), I don't know.
Cool, more are sure to follow.