Bear Hunting and Trapping Seasons for 2014

8/11/2019 Bear Hunting and Trapping Seasons for 2014

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Bear Hunting and Trapping Seasons for 2014

General Hunting (without use of bait or dogs)- August 25, 2014 through November 29, 2014

Hunting with Bait- August 25, 2014 through September 20, 2014 (Bait can be placed beginning July26, 2014)

Hunting with Dogs- September 8, 2014 through October 31, 2014

Trapping- September 1, 2014 through October 31, 2014

Black Bear Hunting Regulations

Black bears can be hunted in Maine using a variety of methods during a 16-week fall hunting season openingon the last Monday in August and closing the last Saturday in November. During the first 4 weeks (primarily themonth of September), bears can be hunted over bait. Hunters can pursue bears with hounds for six weeks(mid-September to end of October), and can still hunt or stalk bears the entire 16 week season. Hunters arerequired to purchase a bear permit during the bait and hound season and non-resident deer hunters arerequired to purchase a bear permit if they want to harvest a bear while hunting deer. Bear hunters can take twobears each fall, if one is taken by hunting and the other by trapping.

Black Bear Trapping Regulations

You may trap a bear in Maine from September 1 to October 31. One cage style trap or foothold snare set at orbelow ground level may be used to trap bears. A special trapping permit is required for residents ($27) ornonresidents and aliens ($67).

Mandatory Bear Tooth Submission

Attention bear hunters and trappers, you are required to submit a tooth from your bear when youregister it.

We have provided hunter check stations with the information for submitting a bear tooth. The store clerk oragent will provide you with a tooth envelope and it is the bear hunters responsibility to:
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1. Fill out the information on the tooth envelope2. Remove the first upper premolarlocated behind the canine tooth on the upper jaw.3. Insert the knife or a screwdriver under the front edge of the tooth, and4. Pry the premolar out of the socket using the large canine tooth for leverage.5. We need the root to estimate the age of your bear. If you broke the root, try to remove the other

upper premolar or one of the lower premolars.6. Place the tooth in the envelope & seal the envelope.7. Give the tooth envelope to the agent/store clerk.

o

The agent/store will mail the tooth to MDIFW.o We will post the age of your bear on this website the next summer after we receive the report

from the lab.

THANK YOU for your help!

Why is the Department Collecting Teeth from Black Bears?

We are collecting teeth from black bears to help us track the number of bears in Maine and adjust bear huntingregulations when necessary to meet management objectives. Our current management goal is to stabilize thepopulation at 1999 levels (23,000 bears). By knowing the age of the bears harvested, we can estimate howmany bears were present in previous years. For example, a 10-year old bear harvested in 2010 was alive forthe preceding 9 years and can be added to the population estimate for each year. By repeating this process for

each bear harvested, over time we can reconstruct the harvested population. Although this method provides aminimum estimate of the number of bears since bears not harvested arent included in the estimate, it is usefulat monitoring whether the population is increasing, decreasing, or stable.

Tooth submission reports

If you harvested a bear during the fall season (e.g. 2013), tooth ages will be posted here the followingsummer (e.g., August 2014), after we receive the age report from the lab that processes the teeth.We


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apologize that the age of the bear you harvested is not available sooner; we are working with the lab to ensuremore timely reports.

2012 bear age reportNEW!

2011 bear age report

2010 bear age report

We greatly appreciate the help of bear hunters, check stations, and guides that assisted with providing teethfrom harvested black bears. These teeth will help us learn more about Maines bear population to insure ourbear regulations are based on the best available science.

2012 Bear Age Summary

During the 2012 bear season, we initially received teeth from 2,143 hunters. For the teeth that arrived late, theage of their bears will be posted to the website later this year. Of the initial 2,143 teeth, the lab was not able todetermine the age for 54 bears (identified with an X in the age column) and for 45 bears we were not able toidentify the hunter who shot the bear. If you would like to see the age of the bear you harvested in 2012, clickthis link (2012 bear age report)

Like most hunted black bear populations, older bears made up a smaller proportion of the harvest. In 2012, theaverage age of a harvested black bear was 3 and the majority of bears (79%) were between 1 and 5 years old.The oldest bear was a 29 year-old female and the oldest male was 21 years old.

Summary of bear age reports (2008-12)

IFW has been working with hunters and hunter check stations to collect teeth from harvested black bears since2008. Like most hunted black bear populations, older bears made up a smaller proportion of the harvest with1/3 of the bears less than 4 years of age. Bears are long-lived and every year a portion of the harvest includesbears that reach 20 to 29 years old. The oldest bear harvested in Maine were females between 25 and 29years of age. The oldest males were between 20 and 25 years old.

In 2008, the oldest bear was a 28 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 20 years old.

In 2009, the oldest bear was a 25 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 20 years old. In 2010, the oldest bear was a 29 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 25 years old.



Black Bear Hunting Tips

Always ask landowner permission before hunting, setting baits, or starting hounds.

Practice with your weapon continuously to maintain proficiency. Bears must be hit solidly in the lungsor heart, rather small targets compared to a bear's large body size.

Tree stands are dangerous. Secure yourself with a safety strap. Do not climb with a firearm or bow inyour hand; instead, use a haul line after safely strapping yourself in.

Still-hunting/Stalking Tips

Bear use dense forests in Maine making it more difficult to hunt bears by stalking. About 2% of huntersare successful still-hunting/stalking black bears in Maine.

Hunting near food sources that are "in season" will increase still-hunting and stalking success.

Early in the fall, bears are found near clear cuts that produce berries or near agricultural crops such ascorn and oat fields or apple orchards.

Late in the fall, hunt near sources of beechnuts or acorns.
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Pre-season scouting can also increase your success rate. Look for tracks, droppings, broken stems, orbranches near seasonal food supplies.

Tips for Hunting with Bait

Scent control is a must for successful hunting, especially over bait. Wear rubber footwear, keep

hunting clothing clean, and avoid wearing it in camp where foreign odors can be picked up. Do notsmoke on the stand. Use cover scent or scent eliminating products.

Check your bait sites frequently (every 3 to 5 days) to insure that bait is available to bears that visit thesite.

If possible, increase the frequency of bait checks after a bear has visited your site.

Use a call lure (e.g., anise, liquid smoke) to attract bears to your site.

Cover your bait (e.g. buckets with lids, large rock) to prevent small animals from stealing bait.

Consider working with a registered Maine guide to learn how to be more successful when huntingbears with bait.

Success rates vary with availability of natural foods. On average, 30% of hunters that use bait orhounds are successful harvesting a black bear in Maine each fall.

Tips for Hunting Bears with Hounds

Hunting with hounds is physically demanding. An exercise program will put you and your dogs inshape to complete a hunt safely.

Before releasing hounds consider the location of roads and houses Always ask landowner permissionbefore starting hounds.

To avoid conflicts with other hunters, be aware of the location of active bait sites and avoid releasingdogs where hunters are in stands.

Consider working with a registered Maine guide or skilled houndsman to learn the tricks of the trade.

Black Bear Trapping Tips

The Aldrich-style cable foot snare has been used for many years by recreational and research trappers to

safely restrain bears. There are many variations of this type of foot snare, and many ways to use it effectively.The following may be helpful in ensuring a safe and successful bear snaring experience. In Maine, about 20%of trappers are successful harvesting a black bear each fall.


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Adult bears are powerful animals and this must be taken into consideration when trapping them. A cable thathas been kinked, twisted, frayed or otherwise weakened should be replaced.A solid tree of at least 6 indiameter should be chosen to anchor the lead with 2 cable clamps, fastened tightly enough to prevent the bearfrom sliding the cable up the trunk of the tree. Many bears that are caught in a snare will climb if given theopportunity. To prevent bears from climbing, fasten the cable lead above the trees butt swell and remove alllimbs as high as you can reach with an axe.

The swivelis a critical component of the snare as it prevents the cable from twisting which can weaken it or

cause it to bind. To prevent the swivel from being disabled by vegetation, remove green saplings within reachof the black bear (at least 4 feet beyond the end of the closed snare). Also avoid setting a snare where largetrees or limbs are inside the catch circle (arc of the closed snare). All these considerations should be doublechecked before leaving the snare set including a final check of tightness on all cable clamps.

You are required by law to have a stop on your snare that allows a minimum loop size of 2 inches.Closing the loop on a 2.5 diameter soup can is an easy way to position the cable stop. You may wantto increase the loop size a little more than 2.5" if you want to avoid catching a smaller bear.

For most snare systems, it is best to stake down the swivel by passing the metal stake on the spring or throwarm through the eye of the swivel and then push the stake into the ground. For best result, pass the metalstake on the trigger side through the eye of the swivel attached to the lead. You may also want to cut a smallforked stake to hold the back of the spring firmly in place.

Dig a hole that is deep enough for the trigger to trip properly. Stick pencil sized sticks into the sides of the holeextending to the trigger to help support an overlayer of moss or leaves. Cover the hole with moss or a thick padof leaves to prevent needles or duff from filling the hole. Conceal your loop, with light material (needles, duff).


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Finish your set by placing light, dead brush as blocking and stepping sticks placed close to each side of thesnare loop to help direct the bears foot over the trigger. You may use a cubby to direct the bear over your set,but a trail set is often more effective, especially if the target bear has established a different trail than manynon-target animals visiting the site. It is very common for bears to step in the exact same spots as theyapproach a bait, developing shallow depressions in the form of a trail. If you can dig your hole in one of thesedepressions where it is near a substantial anchor tree, you may not have to use blocking. It can be helpful toprep your trap site days before you actually set your snare so the bear can get used to these changes. If youthink you have missed the bear you are after, it may not step there again. So you may want to have a backupsite prepped and ready to move your snare to.

For a trail set, it is helpful to try and snare the inside foot (the foot closest to your anchor tree as the bear walksby) because of the toed in gate of a bear. You need to allow enough space for the shoulder of a large bear toclear the anchor tree and still step on your target area. Keep the area one step away from the snare on eitherside free of twigs or bait so that the bear is comfortable stepping there with his outside foot before making the

final step onto the false floor and trigger. It is also helpful to set the snare so that the trigger is slightly below thesurface of the ground with the loop resting around the rim of the bowl that this creates. Before setting yoursnare, if possible you should choose relatively level ground with perhaps a slight downhill grade leading into theset.


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Another helpful tip to increase your chances of catching a bear by reducing non-target trips is to green stick thetrigger. Simply push a green stick (pencil-sized striped maple works good) deeply into the side of your hole andslide it back into the other side of the hole so the stick is just under the trigger and supporting it gently. Try toget about 5-10lbs of back pressure against the trigger. This allows most cubs, coons, and other small animalsto pass over the set, keeping the snare set for your target of a larger bear.

The good news is that bears are not that hard to catch; the bad news is they are even easier to miss.

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Bear Hunting and Trapping Seasons for 2014