[Hog Buster]

We’re beginning see more and get more trail camera pictures of relocated Black bears around here. I never gave bears much thought until the fairly recent spate of pictures and sightings. However now it gives me pause to wonder. Could they become a problem?

There have been tales here of the bears chewing up 4 wheeler seats that were parked in the woods by deer hunters. Also a couple that said that some camps had been ransacked by them. So far they’re just third party stories so I can’t account for their veracity. It still makes you wonder. I never bothered to carry a side arm with me when scouting during the off season, but lately I have.

While it’s nice for the Wildlife and Fisheries to attempt to reestablish the bears here, I hope the attempt doesn’t go awry. In most of the sightings and pictures the bears are wearing tracking collars. Which begs the question, where did they come from? Are they problem bears that were trapped because of being a nuisance, found in some residential area, or caught taking a snooze in someone's garage? If this is the case it seems to me that they may have lost their fear of humans and relocating them just moves the problem. I hope that this isn’t the case. A sustainable hunting population of Black bears here would be great, but I’m sure that not all attempts are successful.

I’m interested if any of you have first hand knowledge of this type reestablishment or relocation in your area. Did it work? Any problems? Any comments?