Black or Griz?

[treillw]

Sorry, no pictures like the usual scenario. This one is more behavioral based.

Was bear hunting, walking too fast down through some timber and into a little clearing of grass and about 50 yards away I see this awesome brown colored bear turn and start running away. At first I thought it saw me. But 15 seconds later I noticed a wind gust coming from behind me - so it could have winded me also. I could have shot, but didn't because I wasn't 100% sure that it wasn't a griz.

I told this to my friend and he told me that I should have immediately known that it was a color phase black bear because of how it turned and ran and that a griz would have tore me up or stood its ground. I told him that I wasn't sure and think that griz generally want to get away from humans and don't like them, unless there is food, cubs, or confined spaces involved.

I'm just curious to hear some more educated guesses out there. Do you think it was a black or griz? Sure enough on your decision to pull the trigger? I know which way I'm leaning, but don't want to go to jail if I'm wrong (or worse, loose my hunting license haha).

Another question: Do black bears and grizzlies usually share the same territory? I know that there are quite a few black bears in this area. I would think that would mean fewer to no resident griz, but what do I know.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

[JohnnyB]

You did the right thing. The consequence of being wrong is too great and bears are not nearly so predictable as to assume a bear fleeing is not a griz. I have watched a bear for almost 40 minutes before her cubs popped out in thick timber.

 

[wwy]

I'm not going to guess what species of bear it was, as based on your description it's likely a 50/50 guess depending on location. People run into grizzly bears all the time with little fanfare. Your friend should read less field and stream or watch less youtube.

As to shooting or not shooting, you should never shoot unless you are sure of your target. That seems pretty simple. As for going to jail for shooting a grizzly bear in a mistaken i.d. situation, I am unaware of anyone serving jail time for this offense although I could be wrong. Fines can be severe in some locations. Don't shoot if your aren't sure.

Black bears and grizzly bears can mesh in most country, there seems to be competition in more open less forested areas. I've seen black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes, and fox on the same carcass in the same night (trail cam).

 

[bluetick78]

It would depend mostly on the location. If you were in Tennessee, definitely a black bear. Montana, that gets tricky.

 

[Werty]

Not sure if this helps. Long story short, a guy showed me a picture of a black bear that his dad shot, and checked into Montana fwp. This bear looked like a grizzly, two tone leg blonde, head did look more like a black but had some grizzly characteristics. I told him there was no way I could have shot that thing. You made the right decision, if unsure, never shoot. It appears we all have that one friend.

 

[Maverick1]

Looks like a bear to me!

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Your friend needs to do some better research on bear behavior. There's absolutely no predictability in that situation. If anything I'd expect a grizzly to run as it got your wind.

The flip side of your scenario, is we once ran into a black bear that refused to run. It didn't like us coming up the trail and was very slow to move off into the brush. It then proceeded to watch us from about 40 yards distance. It was 100% a black bear, and it got killed by the forest service a few weeks later because it had started terrorizing campgrounds.

 

[weekender7]

Never shoot until you are sure. Your friend knows very little about grizzly behavior. Most bears are gonna leave if they smell you but either species might not as well. Be 100% sure of no cubs and species before you shoot. You can't get that bullet back no matter how hard you try,

 

[MTbowhunter36]

Here's a griz that I had an encounter with last year during spring bear season here in NW MT. While I was going up the road I saw this griz feeding off the road in some tall grass about 35 yards away. As soon as he heard me, he quickly scurried off.
After I was done hunting and walking back down, I saw him again in the same spot on the side of the road eating grass. At this time there was a slight breeze going down to him. He was about 180 yards and closed the distance to about 25 before I threw a large rock at him to scare him off.
So basically my point is (based on my experience) black and griz will bolt initially (depending on the circumstance).
I've been false charged, but also had a griz run when it heard my voice from about 100 yards away. They don't want a confrontation any more than we do. All that to say you can't tell if it's a black or griz just because it bolted when it smelled you.

 

[treillw]

Here's a griz that I had an encounter with last year during spring bear season here in NW MT. While I was going up the road I saw this griz feeding off the road in some tall grass about 35 yards away. As soon as he heard me, he quickly scurried off.
After I was done hunting and walking back down, I saw him again in the same spot on the side of the road eating grass. At this time there was a slight breeze going down to him. He was about 180 yards and closed the distance to about 25 before I threw a large rock at him to scare him off.
So basically my point is (based on my experience) black and griz will bolt initially (depending on the circumstance).
I've been false charged, but also had a griz run when it heard my voice from about 100 yards away. They don't want a confrontation any more than we do. All that to say you can't tell if it's a black or griz just because it bolted when it smelled you.

At 25 yards, I'd be itchy to throw something else at it! haha