Spring bear seasons are open

Idaho offers black bear hunting opportunities in both the spring and the fall. Spring hunting seasons for black bear opened on April 15 throughout the Idaho Panhandle Region.

Season ending dates vary by unit. In units 1, 2, 3 and 5 the season closes June 15. Units 4, 4A and 6 close June 30. The higher elevation units close later with units 7 and 9 open through July 31. Hunters may use a second bear tag and electronic calls in units 4, 4A, 6, 7 and 9 where bear numbers are higher than population management objectives.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game would like to remind hunters to carefully identify their target before shooting. Only black bears may be hunted. However grizzly bears could be encountered throughout much of the Panhandle. Grizzlies are currently not hunted in the lower 48 states.

While grizzlies are most commonly found in big game unit 1, they may be found in any of the Panhandle hunting units. Grizzly bears have shown up in units 4, 4A, 7 and 9 in the last couple of years. To get to those units, they crossed through areas where grizzlies are very uncommon.

One female grizzly that had been collared in Northwest Montana crossed into Idaho big game unit 4. This 16- to 18-year-old bear then spent several weeks in the Coeur d’Alene Mountains. Apparently the area was not where she wanted to settle down for the winter, so she traveled toward the Silver Valley, crossed I-90 somewhere near Kingston or Pinehurst and made her way into the upper St. Joe. She denned somewhere in the St. Joe drainage. Her travels were tracked by a radio collar and show just how widely this fascinating species can roam.

Bear hunters need to consider that a grizzly could show up in any Panhandle big game unit. Under field conditions, it can be very difficult to distinguish grizzly bears from black bears. The mistaken shooting of grizzlies has been a significant factor limiting the recovery of grizzly bears in North Idaho.

Grizzly bears have a hump on their shoulders, a dished face, longer claws on their front feet (not something easily seen from a distance!), and shorter more rounded ears than black bears.

Size and color are not reliable features to identify the bears. Black bears can be any color from black or brown to blond; and, grizzlies can be so dark as to appear black. A young grizzly can be smaller than an adult black bear and have a very small shoulder hump.

To prevent mistaken identity, bear hunters must learn to accurately identify black bears and distinguish them from grizzly bears in the wild, often in poor light conditions and possibly from long distances. A bear identification training program is available on the Idaho Fish and Game website, http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/education/bearIdentification.

It is a good idea for anyone heading into the forests in North Idaho to carry bear spray. Research has shown that bear spray is more effective and easier to use to deter a bear/human interaction than a firearm.

•••

Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator with Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the Panhandle Region.