DNR confirms bear report near Clark County

[DoggyDaddy]

Yeah no kidding. My in-laws were one of the first to report a bear sighting in Clark county near Borden few years ago. The CO which will remain nameless more or less called them a liar and said they just wanted to get on TV ! About two weeks later someone photographed probably the same bear about a mile from where they saw it. I personally knew the CO (since quit) and asked him to apologize for his response to them. Of course he never did.

To my way of thinking, they should be bragging about having them here again. Seems like it would be a good thing to have animals re-establishing themselves again.

 

[johntheplinker]

Ya I’d love to see the black bear population grow, the only thing that sucks about it is the deer population is gonna take a hit between cats and bear. Black bear won’t really mess with a human anyway, they’re really timid unless they have cubs with em, and even then they’re definitely no brown bear. If you conceal carry everywhere you don’t need to worry anyway

I don't think black bears are much of a concern with regards to deer depredation. They might take a few fawns but unless it's very sick or weak a adult deer is off the menu. From what I understand a very high percentage of meat eaten by bears is in the form of carrion.

Yeah no kidding. My in-laws were one of the first to report a bear sighting in Clark county near Borden few years ago. The CO which will remain nameless more or less called them a liar and said they just wanted to get on TV ! About two weeks later someone photographed probably the same bear about a mile from where they saw it. I personally knew the CO (since quit) and asked him to apologize for his response to them. Of course he never did.

Typical DNR response. Deny, deny, deny. How long did it take for them to acknowledge there were coyotes in the state? With almost everybody carrying a camera in their pocket and the proliferation of inexpensive quality game cams, it gets harder and harder for them to maintain their credibility.

 

[Hkindiana]

Typical DNR response. Deny, deny, deny. How long did it take for them to acknowledge there were coyotes in the state? With almost everybody carrying a camera in their pocket and the proliferation of inexpensive quality game cams, it gets harder and harder for them to maintain their credibility.

I thought coyotes have ALWAYS been in Indiana. According to the Indiana DNR:

”[FONT=&amp]Coyotes are present in all sections of the state. There are records of coyotes in Indiana as early as 1816, though they likely inhabited Indiana well before that time. Bounties were in place in Indiana on coyotes from at least 1849 through the late 1960s. Despite this persecution by early European settlers, coyotes persisted in Indiana.”

Since the DNR did not exist until 1916, what would they have been denying about coyotes?

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[Ford Truck]

Thumbs up on 357 mag.. probably my favorite handgun round

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[johntheplinker]

I thought coyotes have ALWAYS been in Indiana. According to the Indiana DNR:

”[FONT=&amp]Coyotes are present in all sections of the state. There are records of coyotes in Indiana as early as 1816, though they likely inhabited Indiana well before that time. Bounties were in place in Indiana on coyotes from at least 1849 through the late 1960s. Despite this persecution by early European settlers, coyotes persisted in Indiana.”

Since the DNR did not exist until 1916, what would they have been denying about coyotes?

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Back in the 1980s the DNR was adamant about the "fact" that there were NO coyotes in the state. One of the local game wardens was a guy I went to high school with, and even he would deny it every time he talked to anybody. It wasn't until a lot of pics were being published that the state finally came clean.

 

[Principal Skinr]

I'm just guessing, but I think DNR is in a difficult spot. To officially proclaim the presence of a species, they have to get to a pretty high level of reliability of a claim. Yes, there is a proliferation of trail cams and cell phone cams, but with that comes a much easier time of faking things, too, or taking photos from the web or from out of state. My gues is that they not only have to get photo evidence, but biologists have to find hard evidence, like scat, tracks, etc. They probably also have to interview witnesses or claimants pretty thoroughly. Once everything starts to line up to where it is hard to refute, then they can acknowledge the presence of the animal. There really isn't any strong argument for doing it quicker or in a less thorough or methodical manner. Once it is made official, it needs to be true, or integrity is lost.

So someone may have seen a bear with their own eyes in Indiana. DNR doesn't officially acknowledge the presence because there is no irrefutable evidence, or at lest no preponderance. That person gets mad and frustrated and the DNR looks like they are lying or covering it up, when in fact, they are just doing their job well and carefully.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Hkindiana]

Back in the 1980s the DNR was adamant about the "fact" that there were NO coyotes in the state. One of the local game wardens was a guy I went to high school with, and even he would deny it every time he talked to anybody. It wasn't until a lot of pics were being published that the state finally came clean.

are you sure that you are not talking about WOLVES? I cannot remember ANYONE denying the existence coyotes in Indiana.

 

[AtTheMurph]

Someday we may need bear spray to hike in the Hoosier National Forest. ​ Probably not in my lifetime.

Bear spray for a black bear?? Are you going to chase it down and spray it in the butt when it runs away from you?

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Bear spray for a black bear?? Are you going to chase it down and spray it in the butt when it runs away from you?

Ya exactly. They’re no brown bear, they’d run the other way far before you even see them if they hear you coming. The only time they’d attack is if you surprise them and they’re with cubs, and even then their first instinct is to run. I’d love to see black bear in Indiana, but if also like to see elk and wolves. The only animal I can think I don’t want is a cougar, cats are sneaky, they’ll be within 50 yards and you’d be lucky to know he’s there.

 

[singlestacksig]

Back in the 1980s the DNR was adamant about the "fact" that there were NO coyotes in the state. One of the local game wardens was a guy I went to high school with, and even he would deny it every time he talked to anybody. It wasn't until a lot of pics were being published that the state finally came clean.

in the 80's they argued against Coydogs & Coywolves existing.. But i don't think they went around saying there were no coyotes.. there where coyotes inside Indianapolis in the 70's & 80's ..

 

[two70]

Ya exactly. They’re no brown bear, they’d run the other way far before you even see them if they hear you coming. The only time they’d attack is if you surprise them and they’re with cubs, and even then their first instinct is to run. I’d love to see black bear in Indiana, but if also like to see elk and wolves. The only animal I can think I don’t want is a cougar, cats are sneaky, they’ll be within 50 yards and you’d be lucky to know he’s there.

Not quite, black bear attacks are less common than grizzly or brown bear attacks but much more likely to be an act of predation, meaning that they are more committed to killing and consuming the victim. They can become pretty bold where they are not hunted as well.

 

[johntheplinker]

in the 80's they argued against Coydogs & Coywolves existing.. But i don't think they went around saying there were no coyotes.. there where coyotes inside Indianapolis in the 70's & 80's ..

Maybe, it was a long time ago, but I'm thinking it was coyotes.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Not quite, black bear attacks are less common than grizzly or brown bear attacks but much more likely to be an act of predation, meaning that they are more committed to killing and consuming the victim. They can become pretty bold where they are not hunted as well.

Hopefully we get numbers high enough to allow a season to hunt them! I’m more worried about trichinella than being attacked.

 

[Hkindiana]

Hopefully we get numbers high enough to allow a season to hunt them! I’m more worried about trichinella than being attacked.

Well, you cannot get it from undercooked pork in the US anymore, but as long as you properly cook your bear meat, you would have nothing to worry about.

 

[bobjones223]

Wild boars are definitely multiplying, the DNR killed 32 on the farm adjacent to mine.

Did they have ear tags?....LOL we all know how well the INDNR is managed....

Probably someone hunting their own land as a "Landowner" and the DNR said those aren't farm animals, killed his "feral" hogs and wrote him a ticket for hunting without a license.

 

[BMWmojo]

This should make my Knobstone hike here in a month a little more exciting!!

 

[two70]

Hopefully we get numbers high enough to allow a season to hunt them! I’m more worried about trichinella than being attacked.

I wouldn't hold my breath on a hunting season any time soon even after achieving a population more than high enough to support it. Bobcats have had sufficient numbers for most of the past decade that they not only could have been hunted but should have been managed yet, too many people act like the damn things are some kind of overgrown house cat and the DNR has thus far lacked the will to open a season to manage them. It is pretty easy to see the likely parallels between the two. While it is probably inevitable that Indiana will eventually have a black bear population, I'd be very careful what I wished for.

 

[Hkindiana]

Did they have ear tags?....LOL we all know how well the INDNR is managed....

Probably someone hunting their own land as a "Landowner" and the DNR said those aren't farm animals, killed his "feral" hogs and wrote him a ticket for hunting without a license.

They were definitely wild, and my neighbor called in the IDNR to get rid of them, because they were causing so much crop damage. The IDNR asked for permission to put traps and cameras on my property, but I would not allow it. I’m afraid that they would accidentally discover some long lost speckled toad or something similar, and then want even MORE access to my property. Besides, if there is going to be any hog hunting on my property, it is going to be by ME.