[buckmasterflex]

This will make your blood boil. A 500 pound bruin was killed and left for dead near Kalkaska. This magnificent bear would have been someone's once-in-a-lifetime trophy, but some yahoo had to kill it illegally and left it to rot. I hope they catch him and give him the book. I'd put this scum in jail for life.

This is the second recent incident of bear poaching around my area (TC). I've heard of others too that were not reported. Almost makes you want to form a vigilante anti-poaching task force like they have in Africa.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/1490d92

 

[DirtySteve]

This will make your blood boil. A 500 pound bruin was killed and left for dead near Kalkaska. This magnificent bear would have been someone's once-in-a-lifetime trophy, but some yahoo had to kill it illegally and left it to rot. I hope they catch him and give him the book. I'd put this scum in jail for life.

This is the second recent incident of bear poaching around my area (TC). I've heard of others too that were not reported. Almost makes you want to form a vigilante anti-poaching task force like they have in Africa.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/1490d92

Makes you wonder what the circumstances here were? I have heard of farmers poaching them but usually that is around fruit farms. Could have been a self defense sort of thing I suppose.

 

[JVoutdoors]

Makes you wonder what the circumstances here were? I have heard of farmers poaching them but usually that is around fruit farms. Could have been a self defense sort of thing I suppose.

Self defense maybe and not trusting they would come out ok if they reported it. Bear is to big to do the SSS drill on. Not right but the way the outdoors is sometime.

 

[Luv2hunteup]

I hate to hear that things go on like this.

 

[Duckiller]

Think you are grasping at straws to consider self defence with NO evidence. There are poachers in this world that should go to jail.

 

[buckmasterflex]

It could be self-defense, but I really doubt it. Who carries a shotgun with slugs into the field for self-defense? This isn't Alaska. Almost all hunting seasons are closed right now, and I doubt the slugs people use for killing coyotes would take down a 500 pound bear. If this was an angler in a self-defense situation, they would have used a pistol. I don't know anyone here in NW MI that carries for self-defence from bears.

The other poaching I've heard about is from cherry and apple farmers.

 

[plugger]

Being shot with a shotgun I imagine it may have been shot in someone's yard and dumped elsewhere. They may have thought they were only gonna sting it but at close range a shot gun, even with birdshot, is deadly.

 

[Benzie Rover]

Being shot with a shotgun I imagine it may have been shot in someone's yard and dumped elsewhere. They may have thought they were only gonna sting it but at close range a shot gun, even with birdshot, is deadly.

This is awful, but it happens more than most folks care to know about. I hear about it from various local farmers at least once every couple years. It's often folks with bee-hives since the pretty much get destroyed by the bears (pretty dang hard to blame a bear for attacking the mother load of honey that he finds near the woods), but they feel it's their right to take a bear's life to protect their investment. That'd be a tough call for me to make. Self defense, sure, but that's a different matter. If it was legit self defense, guaranteed it would have been in the news. Bears are very cool creatures with diminishing habitat and lots of responsible hunters already keeping them mostly in-check. Simply no need or viable excuse for poaching them. Knock on wood they can catch and convict whoever did this.

 

[sourdough44]

A 500 lb bear isn't easy to move far, without some help or heavy equipment. I'd start looking close or upriver, if it was in water.

'2 can keep a secret, if one is dead'. There will be talk.

 

[JVoutdoors]

Why would a "poacher" shoot an animal and leave it?? I read that bear parts are worth alot of money. Doesn't make sense.

 

[plugger]

This is awful, but it happens more than most folks care to know about. I hear about it from various local farmers at least once every couple years. It's often folks with bee-hives since the pretty much get destroyed by the bears (pretty dang hard to blame a bear for attacking the mother load of honey that he finds near the woods), but they feel it's their right to take a bear's life to protect their investment. That'd be a tough call for me to make. Self defense, sure, but that's a different matter. If it was legit self defense, guaranteed it would have been in the news. Bears are very cool creatures with diminishing habitat and lots of responsible hunters already keeping them mostly in-check. Simply no need or viable excuse for poaching them. Knock on wood they can catch and convict whoever did this.

It was more likely a homeowner than a farmer. Some people think bears go from awesome to awful in about three nights. I have heard of people calling 71/2 .410 shells as bear spray. People say it wont hurt them, "It just stings a little" but if their too close it could definitely cause a slow death. We have never had a problem bear but some people close have.

 

[buckmasterflex]

Why would a "poacher" shoot an animal and leave it?? I read that bear parts are worth alot of money. Doesn't make sense.

They probably lost the trail. A lot of times bears don't leave a very good blood trail because of all the fat. A 500 pound bear has a lot of fat.

 

[Firefighter]

Black bears lose 15 to 30% of their body weight during hibernation. Assuming this bear lost 20 percent this winter, he weighed about 625 lbs when he went to bed in November.

That was a HUGE bear.

Would love to see what his head and track measures.

 

[DirtySteve]

Why would a "poacher" shoot an animal and leave it?? I read that bear parts are worth alot of money. Doesn't make sense.

That's what made me think there is something more to the story. There is generally a reason. If not shot for a trophy and not around a farm seems like there Wil be more to this story. Dnr will probably figure this one out.

 

[Firefighter]

That's what made me think there is something more to the story. There is generally a reason. If not shot for a trophy and not around a farm seems like there Wil be more to this story. Dnr will probably figure this one out.

A 20 dollar wrecked bird feeder and 5 bucks in seed will most likely be cause of death.

Anyone wanna bet he'll have sunflower seeds in his belly?

 

[pike man]

The Bear was shot in Kalkaska County with Buckshot. Found by fisherman in a canoe in a log jam in the river. Not sure which river. Was on 9&10 news tonite.

 

[plugger]

Given the time of year I bet this turns out to be a bear human conflict incident. If it were in the fall I could see intentional poaching. Not the right way to resolve a conflict but it happens.

 

[-Axiom-]

The Bear was shot in Kalkaska County with Buckshot. Found by fisherman in a canoe in a log jam in the river. Not sure which river. Was on 9&10 news tonite.

It was near Rainbow Jim's launch in Fife lake.

 

[Martian]

Black bears lose 15 to 30% of their body weight during hibernation. Assuming this bear lost 20 percent this winter, he weighed about 625 lbs when he went to bed in November.

That was a HUGE bear.

Would love to see what his head and track measures.

You got that right, I have only got one bear, 310lbs ,spring, I decided I wanted a full mount .The tax. could not find a body form with a head form to match, because so much body size was gone, but the skull don't change. He even was looking at small grizzly forms, and said he could add some fur for the body, but I didn't want him altered so , he is a rug, that I am still proud of. too bad to see a post like this, but good to see so many sportsman who are outraged

 

[Biggsy]

The report say the bear was shot with a shotgun. It doesn't say slug or buckshot as others have stated. My "guess" is a spring turkey hunter encountered a bear while turkey hunting and shot it out of fear. The bear then ran to the water due to the burning from the pellets and died in the water. The turkey hunter was then too scared to report the incident.
Again this is just a guess on my part but I did run into a sow with cubs a few years back while turkey hunting and fortunately was able to back out undetected. It could have turned out bad if the sow would have spotted me since I was only 50 yards away when I spotted them. Of course the correct thing to do if this was the case would have been to call the DNR but I can see how someone would be reluctant to do so.
Now if the bear was poached for birdfeeder, bee hive or other similar reason, I hope there caught and charged to the fullest extent possible.

Biggsy