Wardens warn bear hunters

With a couple of weeks left in black bear hunting season, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wants to remind hunters still looking to fill their tags of key regulations to keep in mind.

For wildlife biologist Tonya Chilton-Radandt, one thing she would recommend is for hunters to take their time when scoping a black bear, it may have cubs.

“I’m not talking about two minutes,” said Chilton-Radandt. “Hunters that have come in year after year often say ‘I did my 20 minutes.’” She said another regular says he puts in 40 minutes before making a move to harvest.

“We only had two black bears brought into our office in the beginning of the season,” Chilton-Radandt said. “But unfortunately both of them were lactating females.”

Two years of bumper berry crops has resulted in a healthy bear population. Having a consistent food source has a three-pronged effect on female bears.

First, fetuses develop only if the mother has enough energy stored fat and nutrients to survive over winter and provide mild for her cubs in the spring. And secondly, the mother is more likely to have a greater number of cubs if adequate food sources have been available.

The food sources that increase the likelihood of black bears reaching full gestation then provide the young cubs more food when they begin scrambling around after moving from their dens in the spring.

Of the two lactating bears brought before the Fish, Wildlife & Parks, one was confirmed to have cubs.

Verifying if a lactating bear has cubs is difficult. Biologists travel to the area where a hunter claims to have harvested the bear from, but if they have removed the carcass from the area it is unlikely the cubs will stick around. By this time of the year cubs are old enough to scurry away from the place where a mother bear was killed, making confirmation imprecise.

Since early season ten legal bears have been brought through the agency, but those first two caused some concern for wildlife biologists.

Black bear hunters are also required to wear 400 square inches of hunter-orange above the waist during rifle season.

Within five days of harvesting a black bear, or within five days of arriving at a trailhead in backcountry areas, a successful hunter must present the complete bear hide with proof of sex attached and skull to an FWP official.

Hunters are recommended to pick up a copy of the 2015 black bear hunting regulations and review them carefully before heading out to the field.