The bears are still wandering in our hardwood ridges.
 

As cold as it is up there you would think the bears would be holed up for the winter as you stated. Obviously not all of them. I wonder if its what they are eating that makes them taste poorly to you. I have eaten quite a bit of bear meat from ones killed here in Va. and they have always tasted good to me. Most have been eating in the corn fields so that probably has a lot to do with it. I have heard others say that they also didnt care for bear meat. I grilled a big chunk of bear backstrap at my sisters one year for Christmas and everyone liked it, especially my niece. She had four helpings and said it tasted like the best roast beef she had ever had. She knew it was bear too.

bears are still active here, all these darn temps swings, has them all messed up anymore

it was 70 on Monday here, 11 degree on Tuesday, and calling for temps back up in the 50's next week

I had a female bear get hit by a vehicle, and now have two cubs hanging out at my place, as well as a third orphaned cub that was orphaned back in June
another female with 2 cubs, and two small male bears
so, that makes 11 bears here still NOT denned up.

our traditional Bear season starts again i beginning of Dec too, , and with these warm temps anymore, a lot of them females that would normally be denned up, will be active
the state want's to drop bear numbers, and this yr they sure are going to with DOUBLE the amount of hunting days, hope they don;t get MORE Than they wanted and end up on the flip side of bear numbers
I know my local hunting clubs by me, that normally get 1-2 bears , have gotten 6 so far this yr and the main season hasn't started yet ?
But bears here are still very active and out and about!

bears are not true hibernators and as such they can be up and about any time of the yr, they typically den due to low food supply in winter
so honestly, a Black bear can be about all winter if food is available to do so
NOW sow's that are pregnant do den more for the fact there going to give birth and its a instinct I gather for them to den, to have a safer place for the young to be born in and go=row to a age they can move about come spring and be safe from weather and predators
most timbering happens here in winter time and it rather common for timber guys to disturb bears and have them walking about looking for new places to sleep
I have seen them active here in 3+ ft of snow and temps in minus 20's
I have found many Male bears also over the yrs sleeping on top of ground covered in snow, no den or crawl space, just laid down fell a sleep and called it good enough I guess LOL
personally my 2 cents on why they doubled the season for bears here, is more about lic sales than anything else,
the state here has been taking a LOT of hits ion loosing hunters and that means a lost of LOST income
adding more seasons and chances at things like bears, will sell more lic/tags, and help the state to get back some of what it lost, since the deer numbers dropped and so did lic sales
I will admit, with so much urban sprawl into places bears lived, the state also has to be getting more complaints about bears(deer too)
as city folks move into the woods and then cry about wildlife !

I captured a small black bear Nov 6 on trail cam. It was 5F and the bear traveled thru at midnight. So they are still active.
North East Wi.

JW

male bears do not hibernate here in wv, may lay up a few days during bad weather, but will not den up. the sows that have cubs or gonna have cubs do however den up.
RR