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Guy sorry for the bunny trail on this toklat topic. Here is some information from a biologist about bear coloration.

Does a bears color have anything to do with its age?

Biologist from palmer.
"Not that I can say. Cubs as you probably know can be anywhere from dark chocolate to blond and I Have sealed many bears of all shades at all ages. I do commonly hear from hunters and guides statements like "I knew it was old because it was so dark" I think this is a common wives tale and I don't have any evidence to support it.

Bears in late spring (haven't shed the hair from the previous year) tend to be lighter due to bleaching of the hair from the sun. It is possible that older bears are more nocturnal and their does not experience the same bleaching that young bears do because young are more active during the day."

So maybe something to it, maybe not. Once again Hal Waugh's knowledge is well noted..."the more I learn about brown bears the more I realize I don't know about brown bears."(as close as I can remember his exact quote.)