I am just starting to look at some of the many trail cams that I ran in my Quebec bear camp and I ran across a neat one. We have a deep pit that bear carcasses are deposited in after the skinning/butchering. I noticed that three bear carcasses were missing one day after I had placed them there the morning before. I had a idea that it was wolves but placed a camera there to see them in action on video. Sure enough they would show up every night at about 2AM and carry the bears off. It is quite common to hear them at night but quite rare to see them. They are just so smart.
That is cool stuff Jerry but a bit creepy at the same time...A 2AM wolf party carrying off whole bear carcasses. Any way of posting some pictures? Thanks for sharing...Have a great weekend
Fascinating! How neat. Is it legal to harvest wolves there?
Just curious...what parts of the bear carcasses are left after skinning and butchering?
I actually have video clips from the tail cam. I will include them in the compilation video when my cameras catch up with me.
The wolves may not be hunted there. I see their tracks on a daily basis but they are like ghost. I did see two crossing a road last year. We also had a wounded bear attacked and partially eaten last year. It was pretty wild coming in on that scene with my blood dog. He was on high alert for sure as we were right behind the wolves.
Some of the carcasses they hauled out of that hole were 100+ pounds. Those wolves are strong critters.
If they had been coming in at a more decent hour I would have sat there and watched them.
I saw two different wolves while bear hunting in Alberta last summer. One guy in our camp shot one with a wheel bow, and I really thought I was going to get a shot at the second one I saw while hunting. He ultimately was just too smart to stick around long enough to get shot at!
Bisch
I understand that it is not uncommon for wolves to kill bears in their dens during the winter months...that is likely how they get the taste for bear meat
DDave
Those wolves are amazing predators! I'm glad we don't have to deal with them down here in MO... too often anyways.
I did have a neighbor who traps coyotes and he caught a female wolf two years ago. Conservation department threatened to take his traps, but he was all legal - Nothing came of it. They just took the wolf.
Bump
I have a friend in Alaska who told me he saw a pack of about 6 wolves surround a moderate size black bear on a river bank and kill and eat it. No reason to doubt him. Bear tastes pretty good to me. I expect the wolves like it as well.
I misunderstood the title... Like "man eating chicken". Lol
I too was wondering about the title. Thought the bear was eating the wolves. Doubt they acquired their taste for bear by killing them in their den. They are carnivores. Carnivores eat meat. Bears are meat. Ergo, wolves eat bear. When they get the chance.
:biglaugh: I too thought it was going to be about bears eating wolves. Thought "How cool is that?"
QuoteOriginally posted by TSP:
Just curious...what parts of the bear carcasses are left after skinning and butchering?
Quebec is like Saskatchewan: there is no meat salvage requirement. After the hide and paws are removed , the outfitters dump the carcasses in the "The Pit".
QuoteQuebec is like Saskatchewan: there is no meat salvage requirement. After the hide and paws are removed , the outfitters dump the carcasses in the "The Pit".
That's outrageous :mad: Bear meat is some of the best eating meat there is. Killing a bear strictly for the hide is wasteful and totally immoral in my opinion.
I agree with Ron !
Anyone who's ever had one of Ron's dutch oven bear roasts would feel exactly as Ron does.
I am also in total agreement with Ron!
He does say skinning and butchering. I guess its all the unused parts. I hope.
QuoteSome of the carcasses they hauled out of that hole were 100+ pounds. Those wolves are strong critters.
At least in my experience bear hunting in Quebec over several years, here's the butchering drill. Skin and take the paws and head off. Take the front quarters and hind quarters off like you would a deer or elk. Remove the back straps and then trim all the meat off the neck and carcass. This whole process is done gutless as you would do an elk in the field. All meat is salvaged and you wind up with, on a good size bear, a big trimmed barrel shaped carcass with the guts in it. And yes, what's left and disposed of on a real good size bear could approach or exceed 100 pounds.
Yellow Dog that is my experience as well both with Jerry who I can endorse as a fine guide and person and my pal Ryan at Stickflingers who is equally professional and kind. On a 300 pound bear, deboned meat is roughly a third, just like an elk.
Now, those bears that get hit bad, that take 2 days to track...I am sorry but I am not eating them. I love bear meat. All 3 have come home with me, deboned and ready for the crock pot but if it takes more than a half day to find them, most will be ruined as the meat spoils under all that hide. I have helped drag and skin a few of these. I hate it, just like any animal whose life you took, but unsafe to eat is unsafe to eat.
I have been in Jerry's camp. The meat is butchered and cared for in a respectful way. If the hunter doesn't want the meat it is offered to others. Only thing wasted is guts and bone.
Not real sure why a thread gets off track from its original intent. A little disappointing for sure.
Wapiti792 said it all and has actually been in our camp. We waste nothing if it is edible. Actually with our blood dog on staff in camp, many hundreds of pounds of meat is recovered that would otherwise be lost. This not only stops waste but prevents a second bear being shot by a hunter while the first suffers/rots.
Conservation and salvage ethics is always our #1 priority.
Clarification:
Bear-eating wolves.
I appreciate the high ethical standards of your camp.
I hear that bears taste like what they eat, so bears eating dead salmon, and those foraging from landfills are not on my menu.
Where I hunt, they are eating cherries, acorns, grubs and the occassional carcass. They taste great.
Killdeer