When you kill a bear in Maine, you are legally required to submit a tooth to IF&W so that the bear can be aged and logged into the records. Each tooth is cut, like a tree, and the rings are counted. Biologists can learn about the health of the bear and it's age. Assuming that the tooth gets to where it needs to be. Typically, it takes a year for the data to be published. The link to the information is usually posted all over social media and eager hunters share how old their bear was. I couldn't wait to find out how old this guy was. The popular vote was about 8 years old. When the data was posted, I searched. I looked up my name. I looked up my guide's name. I looked up the tagging station and the date. I knew a few numbers in my tag and couldn't even find that. My bear was not listed! I sit on the Black Bear subcommittee for the Big Game Species planning process and see Jen Vashon and Randy Cross almost monthly. So, I asked Jen abou...
An outdoor blog about hunting and exploring the woods of Maine.