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Alaskan Coastal Brown Bears

5K views 46 replies 28 participants last post by  DeadandBloated 
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#1 · (Edited)
While I'm a gun and hunting enthusiast, I rarely post here. But, I thought some here might enjoy this thread.

I never guided hunters; only fly fishers. My retirement job is cooking for hunters about 16 weeks a year. This recent hunt was for spring brown bears in SE Alaska.

The hunters fly to the boat on a seaplane, stay, eat, and sleep on the boat. The guides launch skiffs to take them ashore to hunt. Most of the bears are taken just before dark, which is ~ 2130.

A few photos.

Water Sky Boat Vehicle Naval architecture
Water Sky Mountain Vehicle Seaplane
Water Boat Cloud Sky Vehicle
Terrestrial animal Grass Natural material Snout Groundcover
Plant Brown bear Tree Working animal Biome
Head Eyelash Jaw Feather Gesture
 
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#4 ·
Unlike the case of recent discussions surrounding the commercial hunting of lions in Africa, where the case could be made that the financial benefit to poor local communities had a positive impact on conservation, or even the case that could be made for hunting wolves in Idaho or Wyoming to minimize their impact to livestock or elk herds, there seems to be little justification for the killing of these magnificent animals.
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#31 ·
I stand corrected... as rare as participants at Occupy Skagit events.

"But unlike the brutal end that most commercial chickens endure, at Whiting Farms we euthanize the chickens painlessly so there is no distress nor blood".

Perhaps this is the path forward? Cor-bon P++ darts ;).
 
#7 ·
I'm pretty sure personally I'm on the fence about it, but it is very interesting seeing the photos!

Thanks for posting them with a little info about it. How do you measure a critter that size? Pounds? Feet? Mouth size? Where do those relate to a average sized brown bear?

Edit: Now that I think about it a lot of those questions/opinions could apply to carp fishing
 
#12 ·
Wow, those are big boys! Do they skin them and lug the skins to the boat? Even the pelts would be heavy, I'd think. What kind of rifles do they use? Do they just stalk them, or use carcasses for bait? There's a lot I don't know about Coastal Brown Bear hunting, but the results speak for themselves.

And, despite being a knee-jerk liberal, I have no issue with hunters doing their thing legally, as seems to be the case here.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Sky Nature Grass Biome Tree

.....

And, despite being a knee-jerk liberal, I have no issue with hunters doing their thing legally, as seems to be the case here.
$10 bounties on legally killed California Grizzly exterminated them by the 1870's.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/29/opinion/la-oe-klein-grizzly-20100929

Not trying to start a war, this is about about wrongs that are happening right now that the future population will see and wonder why no one stopped. Legal clearcut logging and strip mining come to mind.

Because it is legal does not make things right.
 
#17 ·
Those boars (males to you bunny-huggers) kill cubs whenever they get a shot at them. Sows can get seriously injured in those interactions. Keep the boars at an advisable level, increase cub survival.

I'm not a bear hunter no matter whether it is a black, , grizzly or great brown bear. But these big bears are the only huntable dangerous game in North America and folks pay premium fees to hunt them. That is good for the economy.

Well managed bear populations are not in danger given the intensive focus biologists keep on them. There will still be lots of big beas for the non-consumptive outdoorperson to enjoy.
 
#24 ·
Trapper, do you know what was done with the Bears afterwards? I've heard that you can make soap from the fat but that the meat really isn't worth eating. I'd like to get some first hand knowledge as I really don't like seeing these magnificent creatures killed just for ego stoking. I'm hoping there is something more to it.
 
#26 ·
@Trapper - TYVM for the post. You are a 'cook' AND a sportsman with ethics and skills...

There have been many posts about guns. scopes. etc. and there is no drama with those posts. So why here on this thread? WE are all outdoorsman, some fish, some hunt, and some do both. So what?

@Trapper - you have provided solid, informative, worthwhile posts for a long time. Keep it up please...
 
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#28 ·
I really didnt want this post to turn into a debate about how we humans use other animals because it forces me to point out something to fly anglers they dont want to know.

The hackle used to tie the flies. Did you ever wonder what happens to the roosters that are selectively bred for their plumage only? You probably thought the meat was consumed. It isn't.

In order for the feathers to be properly processed and sold the unavoidable fact is the roosters have to be harvested. This is because what are desired by fly tyers and fashion folks alike are the "first nuptial" feathers that the roosters grow (their "breeding plumage"), and subsequent sets of feathers are not as good. But a unique attribute of the lines at Whiting Farms is the "saddle" (back) feathers, that are so highly prized by everyone, never stop growing. So our roosters get an exceptionally long life of almost a year waiting for these saddle feathers to get as long as they can, compared with a meat chicken that is harvested at 35 to 49 days of age. But unlike the brutal end that most commercial chickens endure, at Whiting Farms we euthanize the chickens painlessly so there is no distress nor blood. The meat from our roosters, though I could argue it is the safest meat in the world as we feed no antibiotics nor hormones and the chickens live such a pampered life, cannot be sold nor even given away because of USDA inspection regulations. What is left over after harvesting is composted, in conjunction with wood chips and manure, to create a soil amendment for our irrigated farm crops. So at least nothing is wasted. Plus the meat on these year old roosters is truly tough, and pretty minimal having not been bred for meat, so not very worthwhile nor palatable.
Thomas Whiting, Ph.D.
President and founder
Whiting Farms

I've come to grips with the reality that I'm a top of the food chain omnivore. I understand that my existence on this planet means other animals will die. Sometimes those animal deaths happen so that I can eat, but other times they die so I can live comfortably or even so I can lure another animal from the bottom of the stream to my fake fly and then stress the hell out of or even kill that fish so I can have the excitement that accompanies that sport.

If you believe fly fishing is a completely bloodless sport that harms no other animal you haven't done your homework.
 
#29 ·
I also appreciate the post Trapper. Thanks for sharing and great pics!

On a side note, I've spent half of the last 17 years in south east Alaska, and brown bear are not in danger of being extinct....
 
#32 · (Edited)
Thanks for posting Trapper, those are gorgeous and majestic animals.

A different take on trophy hunting. I believe legal "trophy hunting", which only includes fully mature animals at their prime or slightly beyond, is one of the most efficient and economically beneficial means of "supporting" and "conserving" wildlife. Every living creature dies and if it's left to a natural death there will be way more suffering than a well placed bullet and there will be no value added to its life, except decay. I'm not a trophy hunter and never have been.
 
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#34 ·
The outfitter charges $16.5K. I don't know what the non-res tag costs. You should also figure float plane cost from Juneau to the boat and back. Plus gratuity of course.

If you fill your tag you can't get another for five years.
 
#35 ·
The outfitter charges $16.5K. I don't know what the non-res tag costs. You should also figure float plane cost from Juneau to the boat and back. Plus gratuity of course.

If you fill your tag you can't get another for five years.
Does the boat do any spring steelhead trips? That's one for my bucket list, but only one I checked was almost as much as a Kamchatka trip, about 7K week.
 
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#36 ·
The focus is on the hunting, but some guys fish for Dollies and Cutties after they fill their tags. Some fish for halibut off the boat.

Steelhead would be a challenge because we'd have to move the boat out of the prime hunting spots in order to put one guy into the prime steelhead spots. That wouldn't be fair to the other hunters.

One option might be, after you got your bear, to contact another outfitter to take you steelhead fishing. One of the guides does this, but it would have to be after the last hunt.
 
#37 ·
I've had sausage made from bear, and it was excellent! What I get a total laugh out of, is non-hunters castigating people as "trophy" hunters when they see the hero shots, assuming that's all that they do with the animal. When I posted a photo of the last elk I took in Idaho a few years ago, I heard from all sorts of assholes about being a cruel "trophy" guy. Not withstanding the almost 400 pounds of elk meat I brought home. All they saw was the dead elk. Guess they missed the shot of the elk Wellington I turned out.
 
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