The state’s longtime bear biologist said hunters are killing fewer bears this season than in the past two years, although harvest numbers are higher than before the pandemic.
The preliminary number of bears killed during the hunting season is 3,269, according to data from the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Electronic Reporting System. But bear biologist Jennifer Vashon said if the bears shot by deer hunters were counted, the actual number would be closer to 3,300.
Maine and Alaska are the only two U.S. states that allow all three methods of bear hunting: baiting, using trained dogs and trapping. Maine, which has one of the largest bear populations in North America, also allows local hunters to shoot bears while hunting deer.
This year, the gap between the number of nonresident and resident bear hunters has widened further.
Last year, nonresidents accounted for 52 percent of bear hunters. Vashon said that number will increase to 55% by 2023. Vashon served as a state bear biologist for nearly 20 years and was recently promoted to the Game Division overseeing MDIF&Ws research and management groups.
Maine residents dominate moose and deer hunting, she said. In 2023, there were 200,000 hunting licenses in Maine (including bear hunting licenses), of which 180,000 were held by residents.
Vachon said 70 percent of bears are shot for baiting and 20 to 25 percent are killed by dogs. She doesn’t know why people are becoming more interested in dogs, but it is what it is.
The number of bears captured through trapping has also increased, she said. Before the outbreak, about 100 bears were trapped each season. In 2023, about 300 people were stranded.
Vashon said the number of resident trapping licenses has increased from about 500 to more than 1,000 over the same period, and residents are more interested in trapping than non-residents.
A requirement that trappers take a black bear hunting course through the state before obtaining a license could scare away nonresidents. Nonresidents tend to hire experienced Maine-registered guides to hunt bears, she said.
Guides are responsible for the preparation of setting up bait sites and keeping them operational, or they have dogs trained to hunt bears. None of this would be accomplished if the hunter didn’t live in Maine and was only here for a few days, she said.
They had a unique bear hunting experience in Maine. That’s why they’re here, Vachon said.
In 2002, there were approximately 15,000 bear hunters in Maine, but an increase in the cost of a bear hunting license caused that number to drop in 2003. They began to slowly rebuild, and by 2019, the number of bear hunters was approximately 11,000. Last year the record was 13,627.
Vashon said the increase in hunter numbers may be related to the state reducing resident licenses from $27 to $10 in 2022.
The preliminary bear count for 2023 is 13,143.
The Maine black bear population is unique in that it has low numbers of disease parasites, making it a very healthy population. Bears can get mange, which is especially serious for cubs, but even this is not serious. Maine has not seen a bear die from mange, she said.
Bear populations are generally stable, and although there are no regional estimates of bear numbers, the animals are rarer in the southern and coastal areas of the state.
Bears are being studied in several areas in particular. One of the studies has been conducted in the Bradford, LaGrange and Howland areas since 1982, and the second, shorter study was conducted in Unity because of vehicle-animal collisions. Bear mortality rates are high.
Hotspots for bear-human conflict due to development pressures are central Maine, Old Town and Hermon, she said.
As for this year’s smaller kill, Vachon said bears don’t come to bait sites when natural food is plentiful. It’s been a big year, especially for fat crops like acorns, which means deer hunters are likely to shoot more bears than in previous years because bears spend more time outside their dens.
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