Do bears mark their territory?

[bignoccursg]

Never hunted bear yet. Have 4 points now. At my cabin in the UP Ive never actually seen any evidence of a bear near the cabin. Since the last visit 3 weeks ago a bear has damaged my feeder and left me some nice piles of bear (sheet) within a few yards of feeder. I figured he would stay away once there were 10 people and big dog at cabin over holiday weekend. He came back Sunday night and left another horse size dump. Is this his way of letting other bears know thats his corn?

[Bearboy]

Ten people and a "BIG DOG" couldn't keep that bear from eating....and they aren't even hungry yet.......:yikes::lol::lol:

[Mitchell Ulrich]

Yes, they do.

One trait is "sign posting" where they stand on their hind feet, turn it's head and bite into tree. (usually a dead one, but not always) I think this is only done by the Boars, but not positive. Good indicator of a bears overall height.

Mitch

[whitetailmonster]

On our land in the U.P. we've seen trees where the bear reach as high as they can and scrape the bark off all the way down. Kind of like a buck rub i guess.

[whitetailmonster]

Now that you've got a bear coming in you can get bacon grease, liquid smoke, or anything with a strong scent and put it on the ground so when the bear that is walking around comes in it will make a huge scent trail right to your bait... Just keep the bait full and if you want you can even get tubs of frosting and carmel and chocolate and put it under logs so it is hard to get to. Good luck!

[Bearboy]

You cannot establish a bait station until August 10th

[Mickey Finn]

You cannot establish a bait station until August 10th

He's talking about a bird feeder.;) I once saw a smaller bear reach up and claw at a tree while I was fishing. I supposed that he was marking. But I don't know.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Micky, its not a big deal, but I got the impression when nignoccursg mentioned "feeder" and later stated "is that his way of letting other bears know its his corn" he was talking about a feeded that disperses corn.

Wish I knew more about the marking the territory idea. I have seen where bears seem to leave claw marks as high as they can reach on a tree. Sometimes its a dead hollow tree. Even saw where a bear took a strip of bark off a maple tree...which is more common in Washington state than here. Used to be the forest service 4X4 sign posts were creosoted, and the bears worked them over a lot. Some even had to be replaced they were so gnawed up. Now days USFS uses some other type of preservative in their sign posts. Bears don't like it as much.

Had a bear take down one of our humming bird feeders last year. Surprising how gentle he treated the feeder...only biting a couple holes in it. Could have easily wrecked it. Just patched the holes in th eplastic and put it back into service.

[swampbuck]

There is a 4' dia oak tree in the deadstream that has been used as a marker for years. there is a 2' dia hole chewed through the bark and lots of claw marks. I have been watching it for at least 7 or 8 years. Also a lot of small 2" white pines bit rite off 3-6 feet high in that area.

I am not surprised about the creosote (coal based) as they also like crude oil. The area around that uncapped well in the deadstrem that I have spoken of is incredible. One of these days I need to get some pictures of that.

[bignoccursg]

Yes I am speaking of a feeder that dispenses corn for 30 seconds a day. Attracts wildlife to our area (rabbits, grouse, turkeys, deer, porquipines). I am not trying to bait bear I have only ever applied for preference points including this year.
Seemed odd to me that this bear would keep taking his dumps in the same area. He reached up and pulled motor from barrel so most of the corn poured out onto ground. By the looks of the corn he didnt eat much Sunday night, just came by and left me another present.

[BuckBuster]

Yes,bears mark their territory.Mostly they rub their backs on a tree,leaving their particular scent there.Yes sometimes they use the same tree year after year.To attract them to your stand.I use anise.I get it in wafer form from HS Scents.No mess.Don't need a baiting permit. Has worked for me for years.It does help to be in an area they are feeding on natural food such as apples,acorns & beechnuts.My 2 cents.

[Bearboy]

One of my favorite scents is also anise oil. It smells great(if you spill any). You can purchase it at Loran oils. I take a plastic spray bottle, put an inch or so on the bottom, then fill the rest of the bottle with cheap cooking oil. You can spray it all over. Lasts a long time. But I do not think there is such a thing as a baiting permit in Michigan.

[Flag Up]

Bears are similar to dogs. Once they eat they have to crap right away.:D

[bignoccursg]

That would make sense. My dogs head straight to their dumping grounds after eating.

[BuckBuster]

One of my favorite scents is also anise oil. It smells great(if you spill any). You can purchase it at Loran oils. I take a plastic spray bottle, put an inch or so on the bottom, then fill the rest of the bottle with cheap cooking oil. You can spray it all over. Lasts a long time. But I do not think there is such a thing as a baiting permit in Michigan.
You're probably right about baiting permits in Michigan.I'm from New Hampshire.We need one if we're going to put bait out for bear.We need landowners permission..:)