Orr, Minnesota Bear refuge

[Yooper]

I watched a local outdoors show tonight, Discovery w/Buck Levaser out of Marquette. He showed a repeat of a guy who feeds bears(for 21 yrs), they got one bear on a scale and it had a weight of 869 lbs. That thing was huge, belly dragged the ground. The old guy just pasted away and MN made his property into a refuged. They had bears all over, some were very big.

[skandiaman]

My wife and I went up there about a month ago. Really something to see.We had about 8-10 bears around us at any one time. They said in August they have around 40 bears feeding at one time. The people working there (mostly women) I got the impression are anti-hunting, but they didn't really say so outright. The place has a websight under Vince Shulte Bear refuge (I think) or American Bear Association.

[born2hunt65]

Those kinds of places are sorta neat to visit because you can usually see wild animals up close like a zoo. My problem is people see the animals in a more natural enviroment and they think the real wilderness is like that as well. The don't see the problems that arise when there are too many deer or bear in one area and the reasons it is important for hunters to help keep the population down. They don't see that these animals food sources are supplemanted by humans and that they don't have to worry about starvation or over popualtion. If they get sick they are tended too. And last but not least if they are a problem they simply get rid of the animal by relocation now their someone elses problem. I may be wrong on some of this but I feel that those places don't really help the animals. It's good to hear they have cont'd to feed those bears because some of the wild has been taking out of those bears feeding them for so long. They know they always have food and have no need to seek it out the way they wouyld in the wild. Just my 2 cents worth, Born