Alberta hosts a large Bear population,with very liberal seasons and bag limits.Baiting is allowed in some areas.Normally zones with Grizzly Bear populations do not allow baiting for either species.Hunting Bears with dogs is prohibited throughout the province.It has been said that in excess of 40% of Alberta's Black Bears are colors other then Black.The healthy population of bears makes bear hunting a very popular passtime here,especially in the spring.
I took this Bear a couple of years back after meeting a local Bee farmer.He told me that he was having a problem with a group of his hives that were being ravaged by a persistant bear. This bear was doing damage on a regular basis,and because of it, he was considering moving the hives to a new location.A buddy of mine,Bruce Waddell was up from Calgary for a couple of days of bear hunting ,and we decided to give this bear a try. On the first evening we went to the area where the hives were located.After seeing the shear number of bees in this site,I had to wonder why any animal would want to risk taking the honey out of the hives.They were everywhere,and not happy to have us in the area,even at a distance.The bear literally had paths worn in the spring grass leading to the hives.Light colored hair was caught up in bunches on the barbed wire surrounding the bee hives. Bruce and I worked out an agreement that if a black phased bear came into the hives,he would have first choice,but that if a color phased bear came in,it would be my call.After working out where each of us would sit,we decided to take a quick walk around the quarter section,make a loop and end up at our designated ground blinds within an hour of darkness. On my way back to sit for the remainder of the evening,I came up over a bit of a rise,and was shocked to see a blonde phased bear standing on the pathway at about 60 yards.He had come from across the road,and was on his way to the hives.He had to have walked well within a hundred yards of Bruce's truck,which was parked on the side of the dirt road.I looked around in the open meadow where he stood,to make sure the bear wasn't a sow with cubs in tow.I quickly dropped to one knee,put the cross hairs behind his front shoulder,and excitedly squeezed the trigger. The Ruger 30.06 loaded with 165 gr. Nosler Partitions performed perfectly,and after rolling over quickly at the shot,it was all over and my first color phased bear was mine.Bruce came on the trot after hearing the shot,and after some back slapping and a couple of handshakes it was picture time.We dressed and skinned the bear,and down the road the tanned hide will make a very nice full mount in my trophy room. A special thanks to the Bee Farmer,Lauren,and my buddy Bruce for sharing in this exciting hunt.Needless to say,that group of hives is still in place,and to my knowledge hasn't been hit by a bear since.But...there's always this spring......
This is another bear that I took last August over the Bee Farmers hives in another area.This was a large dry sow which was well prepared for winter hibernation,having an honest 3 inches of fat over the majority of its body.I have never seen anything like it!No doubt eating the farmer's honey played a big role in the condition of this bear.
Here is a great Alberta Grizzly that Bruce and I teamed up on a few years back. The most exciting hunt I have ever been on.