Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire World's oldest known wild bear.......

Thought this was interesting. edit - Says four of them took photos, wish they had put a couple with this article.

Link:

http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_22560601/minnesota-black-bear-is-worlds-oldest-known-wild

World's oldest known wild bear makes its home in Minnesota
By Sam Cook
Duluth News Tribune
Posted: 02/10/2013 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated: 02/10/2013 08:14:28 PM CST

Karen Noyce set the frequency on her radio-telemetry receiver and pointed its antenna into the pines of Chippewa National Forest near Marcell last week. Noyce heard high-pitched intermittent chirps.

"That's her," said Noyce, a wildlife research biologist with the Minnesota DNR in Grand Rapids.

South of us, the oldest known wild bear in the world -- 39 years old -- was resting peacefully in her den,

Noyce began walking south, along with Dave Garshelis, the DNR's bear project leader.

"No known bears of any species have lived longer in the wild, based on age estimates from teeth taken from harvested bears," Garshelis said. "(That includes) more than 60,000 specimens just in Minnesota and at least a million overall."

Several hundred yards from the road, we could see the den.

And, there, under an upturned stump with roots dangling from a 15-by-15-inch opening, was the bear that biologists call No. 56. She stirred slowly. In hibernation, Garshelis said, bears remain drowsy, body temperature falls from 99 to about 90 degrees, their heart beats more slowly, becoming intermittent.

"She's missing part of her right ear tag," Garshelis whispered.

Four of us recorded video of No. 56 and took photographs for perhaps half an hour.

Wildlife biologists know that she is 39 years old because they counted seven rings in a tooth they extracted from her in 1981, when she was first captured and radio-collared. That reliable aging technique indicated the bear had
been born in 1974. Researchers track her now because her longevity is so remarkable.

Since 1981, the DNR has radio-collared and tracked more than 550 black bears. The next oldest bears in those studies included two that reached age 23. One is a granddaughter of No. 56.

"Half the females in Minnesota don't live past age 4," Garshelis said. How does No. 56 do it?

"She has stayed away from houses and hunters' baits," Garshelis said, "We've (lately) made a concerted effort to ask people not to shoot her, even if she does come to a bait."

Over the years, she produced 11 litters and 28 or 29 cubs. She first gave birth at age 5 and last produced a cub at age 25, Garshelis said.

Only 14 of more than 350 radio-collared bears tracked by the DNR have died naturally. "We're hoping she doesn't die due to a human cause," Garshelis said.

Noyce plans to place cameras near the den. In late March, the videos may show the oldest known bear in the wild, emerging into another Minnesota spring.

39 years is pretty cool when you consider what all happened in the world around that bear.

Incredible.

39 years old...amazing!

Very interesting

That's great. Assuming she's had young a lot if not all of the years, she's been a great asset to her species.

I hunted one unsuccessfully one fall that was killed the next year by a local hunter and aged at 27 years. It was the longest bear I'd ever seen in the wild, and I've seen hundreds of bears. This is a remarkable bear to have lived 39 years. It would be super interesting to follow an old bear like this and learn it's habits. They live a solitary life.

This is a cool story and all but I don't understand this part.

If they first captured and radio collared her in 1981 and she was born in 1974 how would they know she gave birth to her first litter at aged 5? that would put her first litter at 1979 2 years before they started to study her.

probably because she had 2 year old cubs with her

norm

Shot one in north Idaho in Sept 2010 that was 28 yrs old, beautiful lots of silver-gray on face and paws. Idaho F&G thinks its prob the oldest sow to come from up there.I was 61 years old then and am thankful everyday for that trip. Good Luck to all.

A buddy of mine had over 40 bears collard at one time in the Great Smokey Mntn N Park and Cherrokee N Forest of E Tenn. I don't know what the average age of them was tho. A cool way to make a livin tho for sure.

Im assuming that this bear is strictly nocturnal now.

Oldest bear taken in NY State according to tooth estimates was a female aged at over 40 years old. Forget exactly where I read it but it was a state published article on hunting bears in NY.

Another possibility other than observation of 2-year-old w/mother.

IRC, I believe it was Lynn Rogers (?) ear tagging new-born and yearling Winter den cubs early '70's, or shortly before then. It was the start of a bear study which is still continuing.

Again IRC, Rogers had some kind of a 'split' with a University. He relocated and started his own study, and not sure where he is these days. I do recall he was around Ely for some time studying bears.

Maybe they counted the rings in her beargina?

39 years of eating grubs and garbage, living in a cave and having no teeth. I'm sure that bear is hoping someone will shoot it and end the misery...

Oldest bear I ever got was 22 years old. The teeth on that ol boy were about gone.

Found it:
Black bears are aged by
cutting a cross section of
a small premolar tooth and counting
the cementum annuli (annual rings), similar to the technique used by foresters to determine the
age of trees. The oldest wild bear ever aged in New York was 41 years, taken in 1974 during
the regular big game season in Essex County, Town of Newcomb. "

Lynn is still at it in and around Ely but I hear he has gone over to the dark side--lot of his funding comes from anti's

Actually, non-lefties being funded with lefty's money is kinda cool. (assuming he hasn't been sucked into the pit)

Charge the bastards double.
Take every cent you can get.
Use the excess against them.

Then just stand there and smile.