1,000lbs pa bear?
 

A hunting buddy sent me this photo, that he says he got off Facebook.

I can't find any info online or even the list showing weights. I know I was watching that list last year though.

Anyone hearing anything about this??

-Jake

Hard to believe an eastern black bear could get that big. The vt record is just over 500 dressed with an estimated 600 live weight. Then again you have better feed down in pa so who knows.

I agree. And I still can't find anything on line about it. Which has me doubting it.

PA has had 800 lbs + bears. And 700lbs seems like every year here recently. Lots of 5 and 600pounders each season. So I suppose it is possible.

Limited hunting opportunities (no hounds, no baits) lots of food, and a perfect climate (cold enough to require body mass but not so cold that there isn't abundant food sources) let's bears live long and grow big.

-Jake

And like I said... A buddy got that photo off Facebook and then sent it to me. He had no other info on it

-Jake

It's erased this morning. So either a typo or photo shop?
-Jake

It must betrue it was on Facebook. Right?

That's what I've been told! I'm not on Facebook, but the fact that he couldn't find a link to it, and there were no pictures of the bear circulating had me suspecting it was false.

-Jake

To hit 1000 pounds a bear would have to be pretty old. To sustain that size he would have to be an eating machine and be prime for hunting. I doubt that one could ever survive up here long enough to hit 1000 pounds with a long hunting season and hounds.

You may not use dogs for bear in PA.

I understand that my quote was up here where it is allowed. Pa is a lot like Vt with some nice tracts of timber and lots of ag land both of which are rich in feed. Pa has a lot more nuts and a milder climate so feed is better down there. Hounds or not I would say a bear in both states has a reasonable chance of being seen while hunting is in season. The only place where there are really large tracts of dense forest where they can avoid detection is northern Maine and I think they allow baiting there since it would be almost impossible to hunt them there without it. Up there a bear can live a long time but they don't have the feed or climate to grow that large as fast.