How long will a bear hit an elk carcass?

TradAg02

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
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135
Shot an elk Tuesday. Died in a tight narrow drainage with a little water. Pretty cool and shades area, elk hasn’t even bloated after two days. Once the bear find it, how long will they keep returning to the carcass?


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Joined
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Idaho
Nailed it.

The bigger question is how long until they find it.

Once they find it it depends on how many bears are feeding on it. The bears could eat every part of it that interests them and leave the rest to coyotes and crows. A single bear could take a week, 2 bears could take a few days.
 

jmez

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Piedmont, SD
Three days the last one I watched. Sow with 2 small cubs were on it the next day and returned for 2 more.
 
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Mar 23, 2017
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Get this, my dad shot a cow on opener and we waited a while to track. By the time we got there several hours later there were two fresh piles of shit next to elk and the bear had eaten both ears off the Carcus and that’s it. Why in the world a bear would choose to start with the ears in beyond me!


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Trr15

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Feb 16, 2014
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Wyoming
Get this, my dad shot a cow on opener and we waited a while to track. By the time we got there several hours later there were two fresh piles of shit next to elk and the bear had eaten both ears off the Carcus and that’s it. Why in the world a bear would choose to start with the ears in beyond me!


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I’ll bet walking up on those piles of bear shit near the carcass gave you an “ear-ey” feeling!


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I’ll bet walking up on those piles of bear shit near the carcass gave you an “ear-ey” feeling!


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It did bit for the first time ever I was packing heat.


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Pigdog

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Sep 20, 2019
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Oregon
I’ve had black bear come in and start feeding right after leaving it (based on time stamp on trail camera). They drug that carcass up and down the drainage for at least a week. I’m fairly sure they will stay on it until it’s all gone.
 
OP
TradAg02

TradAg02

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
Messages
135
I checked on 4 carcasses (3 drainages) for up to 12 days and not a single one was touched by a bear in the unit I was hunting this season. After about 4 days the maggots turned one fairly rank, the others stayed eatable for most of the trip. Glad the tag was only $100.


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