There has been a black bear seen by house recently. My neighbor said that his track is 7 inch wide.. What does he mean by this and if its what I think, is this a descent size bear?

typically the average width of a mature boar black bear is 5" .If infact it is 7" and not just guessing i would say u have got a monster around u....measure it to be sure.Last year i hunted one with a 6 1/4" wide track and he was scratching up a tree at a measured 7'8" .i did not get him but one was shot during the gun hunt(deer) a few miles away that apparently went 600LBs.(i was bowhuntingbears)I doubt the bear would harm u but bears generally attack a kneeling person or crouched or smaller people when they do.it is very rare for them to attack but usually that is what the position of the person was when mauled(they look smaller)

I hope you don't have trash, food, or birdfeeders out or you might get to see the thing. Bowhunting those suckers sounds pretty macho thought :augen41:

I will have to do some hiking and try to find his track so I can measure it myself. Thanks for the information.

The neighbor that has seen him has a bird feeder in his back yard and last year he watched a bear knock it down and gorge for a while. I do not have a bird feeder but with a couple of small kids I don't need this bear around..

Does anyone know if bears attack dogs at all? I have a 150 lb Newfoundland that I am not to concerned about (unless the bear thinks he's one also) but also have a 10-15 lbs toy breed (papillion) dog.. He doesn't stay out as much as the Newf and when he does he is loose so maybe there is no concern..

Maybe I ought to check into when the spring bear season in MA is...

i don't mean to alarm you bears are very afraid of humans.dogs tend to scare bears off,however get in touch with your local game wardens about this animal cause you don't want him loosing his fear of humans being around your houses.....or hunt him.I have spooked many bears in the woods hunting...once they get your scent the leave in a hurry....i'll post some pictures of my bear hunt last year of live bears at a bait.(baiting is legal in ontario)

I live in a fairly remote section of MA - for MA that is.. I own 7 acres and my neighbor owns about the same and behind our houses is 150 acres of conversation land so there is plenty of land for us to share with this bear.. But if he acts weird and snoops around the house to much I think he will look better on my wall and in the freezer..

Click to view attachmentthese are some of the pictures we got from still shots of my video camera last fall ....the big bear i was after never showed up in the daylight!

That is one thing i have always wanted to do is bow a bear.Last 2 years have put in for permit but havent got one.Missed the app.time this year.One day.

well i sure makes u bear down and focus on your shot.....no fun tracking a wounded bear through a thick cedar/spruce swamp in the dark with a stick and string......

ZR
i agree with others here that to keep foods away from harms way. that bear has allready shown no fear towards people, as he's come to eat in your yards. you should contact your local dnr office and bring your concerns to there attention. most bears on average, have a home range of 5-7 miles depending on region and terrain. 150 acres is just a 5 min. trot for a bear from one house to the next. bears are like cats. once they find food they'll be back. when the bear returns to his hideout, he will attract others with his scat and food on his feet leaving traces behind. your best deturtant is to eliminate the food sources. also keep your rifle close. your nufie might be a good deturant. but if that bear turns he'll be no match for any size bear letalone a bear with a 7 in. pad. i have property that borders the michigan "TB" zone. when the deer baiting quit. the bears also went hungry, naturaly they turned to the residentual areas. this quickly become a big problem for the local people. so i know just what your going through. :div20:

p.s. they make good rugs

p.s.s a bear with a 7in. pad will be about twice the size of the one next to the feed buckets, in other words a very, very big one

f7
i have recived 3 tags in the last 5 seasons in the red oaks zone. thats unheard of, and i have 1 point going into this years drawing. man that would be sweet to get another one. words of wisdom bring a hand gun! the first one i shot, i was a 20 yr. old nugent wanta be. the bear jumped the string and i pouch hit it. it came half way up the tree to get me. all the while screeming the most blood curdling whalling you ever heard. i was shaking so bad i could not keep the arrow on the rest pointing stright down, and finallty just slapped it to the rizer and let it rip. it skipped off it's head and ran off. that was the only time i ever shaken so bad i couldn't get down. it took 3 hours and it had gottin dark. we found it the next morning 75 yrds away it weight 426lbs. thats the one in the last post. i've taken several others also, but there mounts are up at the cabin. i don't have any digital pix other than what my web cam will reach

jmp
nice, i like those stand shots do you have more?

i have more of the same bear ,i just put some into the computer last fall to email to a friend.i have more on the tapeand i will try to put them on sometime but here are a few more.....last year was the first i've bowhunted bear in 10 years...they canned the spring hunt here in ontario....forgot how exciting it is..thats a nice bear u got great story too....

:augen41: A 7 incher!!! I'm on my way!! :banana: That's a big'in. Nice pic's guy's, did you guy's have your bears scored? I'm sure it would make the book. :div20: :beerchug:

man i think id still be up in that tree.... i dont think i would have been able to move after that.... thats why i think if i were to go bear hunting around here... it would be with the trusty rifle

ya that would be a nice bear, a big bear will have a big head with ears that don't look like the belong on him ( small ), that how you can tell between the size of the bears, young one smaller head with bigger ears, older one big head smaller ears. the meat is even better than venison!!!