Black bear track question

[Greg Koziol]

So I decided to do some scouting today to a new area to take advantage of the cooler temps today and before I start summer classes and before 4th of july....with goal of finding a good deer and possibly bear hunting area. I live in southeastern new york.

it was a good scouting trip to say the least I saw 3 bucks feeding together?? Really weird.. I live in new york and I never see bucks fedding together. They were all feeding in a meadow together, a blueberry meadow one had 8 points, the other 7, and a forker. The 8 point was a real MASSIVE 8 point, the antlers were really wide out beyond it's ears and really thick and high, the points were really small though. They were huge too..

my primary goal was to find a good bear hunting area... and looks like I found it. found 2 sets of tracks. the first set was about 3-4" wider then my foot and i'm 6'3'' 280 pound strongman and powerlifter with a size 13i'm used to feeling the biggest man or thing when I go places..... so I was pretty impressed by the size of this track, it made me feel small and weak. My fist was about the size of his front pad. Wondering if this is truly a big bear or not. The track looked about 2 or 3 days old.

I would say the pad on the front track was about as wide as my foot, and from toe to toe the front track was about 6"-7" atleast. Here are some pics. Taken with cell phone. There not the greatest cause I didn't wanna spend much time bent over taking a picture, espeically cause the area was real thick and it was real windy so I couldn't hear anything... didn't want a surprise encounter... so I took quick snap shots and moved on. good thing I brought my shotgun for protection, against my dads advice... cause when I saw those tracks I was truly surprised and the area was so thick with blueberries abound all over couldn't see more then 4 feet into the woods.

Then I saw another track which appeared to be a hind track and it was much smaller then the other but still good size. The bear tracks were only 5 minutes walk from where I saw the bucks grazing... i'm wondering if the bucks feed together cause they know theres a few big bears from hell in the area?? ITs just odd to see 2 mature bucks feeding together, along with a 4 point. Both of the tracks were on the same hiking trail about 10 minutes apart... they must be using the trails for easy of walking.

the picture sort of emphasizes the size of my foot, but my foot looked dismal in comparison to these tracks

 

[countertop]

Looks like a good track.

Bucks will come together in social bachelor groups during the summer. They hang as buddies until the rut when they run separate ways after the ladies and start competing with each other for mating rights.

Not unlike a bunch of high school kids.

 

[skunyun]

Depth of the nails and overall depth of the track can help to determine size. Bears have really wide paws, they also are getting hungry you may be being staulk youself,

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Depth of the nails and overall depth of the track can help to determine size.

Right, but as with other animals, wet or soft ground produces a much deeper track, thereby giving the impression of a much larger animal. Because the track is deeper, more of the foot is involved and can also be wider and longer, once again, making the animal look larger than what it really is.

 

[Cosmoline]

That's no monster bear. If you're size 13 you're likely too big for a black bear to try to mess with anyway. I wouldn't worry about it.

You should see some of the prints I've hiked over!

 

[Greg Koziol]

That's no monster bear. If you're size 13 you're likely too big for a black bear to try to mess with anyway. I wouldn't worry about it.

You should see some of the prints I've hiked over!

I wish i could see some of those prints, this is the first time i saw bear tracks in the wild. I have great respect for black bears.. especially mama bears.. they gotta endure a lot of crap to protect their cubs, other mean male bears, and coyotes and such.

 

[Greg Koziol]

Depth of the nails and overall depth of the track can help to determine size. Bears have really wide paws, they also are getting hungry you may be being staulk youself,

maybe he caught a wiff of my scent on the way in, now that you mention it, it was very windy that day... he probably smelled all 280 pounds of homo sapiens sweating profusely in the wind, maybe he went to investigate.

 

[FLAvalanche]

Ha! Remind me of that bear poop with the little bells joke.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Doesn't look like a really big bear...but pics can be deceiving.

 

[mbt2001]

Right, but as with other animals, wet or soft ground produces a much deeper track, thereby giving the impression of a much larger animal. Because the track is deeper, more of the foot is involved and can also be wider and longer, once again, making the animal look larger than what it really is.

+1

You are 100% right. Good post.

 

[KodiakBeer]

The rule of thumb on brown/grizzly tracks is that if you add 1 to to the width of the front paw (not toes), you get a rough estimate of the square foot of the bear. So, if the track is 7" wide, you add 1 to get 8 and you know you're looking at a track left by an 8 foot bear.

I'm not at all sure if that same rule applies to black bears. However, since you saw tracks of different sizes than you're almost certainly looking at a sow and cub.

 

[blacktailhunter]

bucks form bachaler groops then split up befor the rut