[swampdog]

If it is edible what does it taste like?

I like bear meat. The secret is to remove all the fat before cooking. Backstrap steaks on the grill are tasty and a bear roast, prepared properly, tastes like a good beef pot roast.

I believe that most people who tried bear meat and didn't like it cooked some fat in with it, too. It's not the meat that is gamy and rancid tasting, it's the fat. Bear carcasses, because of the high fat content, need to be cooled off quickly.