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The skulls of American black bears are broad, with narrow muzzles and large jaw hinges. In Virginia, the total length of adult bear skulls was found to average 262 to 317 mm (10.3 to 12.5 in). Across its range, greatest skull length for the species has been reportedly measured from 23.5 to 35 cm (9.3 to 13.8 in).Typically, bears that are going to score in the low 20-inch range have skulls at least 12.5-inches long and usually 7.5-inches wide.Boone and Crockett measurements for black bear are measured in 1/16 inches. The skull was measured at 8 inches wide and 13 9/16 inches long to make the total record at 21 9/16 inches.
Contents
How big is a bear head?
Typically, bears that are going to score in the low 20-inch range have skulls at least 12.5-inches long and usually 7.5-inches wide.
What is biggest black bear skull?
Boone and Crockett measurements for black bear are measured in 1/16 inches. The skull was measured at 8 inches wide and 13 9/16 inches long to make the total record at 21 9/16 inches.
How do you measure a bear skull?
Using calipers the greatest length is measured from the base, or back of the skull to tip of nose, minus the lower jaw. The greatest width is measured from cheek-to-cheek. The two measurements are then added together to get the score.
How big is a 400 pound black bear?
Measure the width and length, divide by two and you get the squared size of the bear. Black bears squaring 5-6 feet are about average. A bear over 6 feet is excellent. Seven-foot bears are trophies of a lifetime, likely 400 pound-plus animals.
How big is a brown bear head?
Attribute | Male | Female |
---|---|---|
Body Weight | 130-550 kg (287-1213 lb) | 80-250 kg (176-551 lb) |
Head/Body Length | 1-2.8 m (3.3-9.2 ft) | 1-2.8 m (3.3-9.2 ft) |
Shoulder Height | Up to 1.5 m (5 ft) | Up to 1.5 m (5 ft) |
Tail Length | 60-200 mm (2-8 in) | 60-200 mm (2-8 in) |
How hard is a bears skull?
Since the spinal cord is so small, it makes sense to aim at the brain. But bears have thick, strong skulls shotgun slugs or even rifle bullets may not penetrate. The weakest part of a bear’s skull is behind the face, in a small triangular shaped area roughly bounded by the eyes and the tip of the nose.
How thick is a Kodiak bear skull?
The average skull size of Kodiak bears that were killed by hunters in the first five years of the 21st century was 63.8 cm (25.1 in) for boars, and 55.4 cm (21.8 in) for sows.
How old is a 200 pound black bear?
8-years 150 lbs. 8-years 275 lbs. 20-years 150 lbs. 20-years 275 lbs.
How big does a bear skull have to be to make Boone and Crockett?
Measure the width of the skull and the length without the lower jaw. Add those two together for the score. A black bear must measure 20 inches to make Boone & Crockett for the current recording period. It takes a 21-incher to qualify for the all-time record book.
What is a good size black bear skull?
The skulls of American black bears are broad, with narrow muzzles and large jaw hinges. In Virginia, the total length of adult bear skulls was found to average 262 to 317 mm (10.3 to 12.5 in). Across its range, greatest skull length for the species has been reportedly measured from 23.5 to 35 cm (9.3 to 13.8 in).
Can you tell the size of a bear by its paw print?
Compare the length and width measurements. If the length and width are similar, it is likely a footprint from a bear’s front paw. If the print is longer than it is wide, it is more likely a back paw print.
Are black bears aggressive?
In fact, they are often attracted to people’s food sources or get used to the presence of humans. However, black bears are typically not aggressive and fear the “repercussions of attacking someone,” Garshelis said. “They just don’t want to attack people,” Garsheilis said. “They’re kind of timid animals.”
How much does a black bear hide and skull weigh?
The hide and head will definitely fit in a 48 quart cooler. I carried the hide and head out on my hunt and I would guesstimate it was in the 50 – 60 pound range.
How strong is a black bear?
Black bears have a bite force up to 800 PSI and a swipe force of about 560 pounds. They are about five times stronger than humans and up to two times stronger than lions. While they are weaker than grizzly or polar bears, black bears could still kill you with a single swipe.
Who would win grizzly or gorilla?
With the bear’s massive body, superior muscle, surprising speed and evolutionary armory, there really isn’t any way a gorilla wins the fight. Every attempt it makes would be thwarted by at least one of these factors.
What is the largest bear in history?
History’s largest bear (Arctotherium angustidens)
This is quite simply, the largest bear ever discovered and by default, a contender for the largest carnivorous land mammal ever to live. The Arctotherium angustidens was isolated primarily to South America during the Pleistocene epoch 2.5 million to 11,000 years ago.
What is the biggest bear ever recorded?
The largest bear on record in modern times was a 2,200-pound (998-kilogram) polar bear shot in Alaska in the 19th century.
How thick is a Kodiak bear skull?
The average skull size of Kodiak bears that were killed by hunters in the first five years of the 21st century was 63.8 cm (25.1 in) for boars, and 55.4 cm (21.8 in) for sows.
American Black Bear (Priority species: Smokies Discovery Impact Day)
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Understanding Skull Size in Evaluating Trophy Black Bear – Tactics/Knowledge – Bear Hunting Magazine
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Understanding Skull Size in Evaluating Trophy Black Bear – Tactics/Knowledge – Bear Hunting Magazine
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How big is a grizzly bear skull?
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- Summary of article content: Articles about How big is a grizzly bear skull? Skull lengths of Russian brown bears tend to be 31.5 to 45.5 centimetres (12.4 to 17.9 in) for males, and 27.5 to 39.7 centimetres (10.8 to 15.6 in) for females … …
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Replica Grizzly Bear Skull For Sale — Skulls Unlimited International, Inc.
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American Black Bear (Priority species: Smokies Discovery Impact Day) · iNaturalist
Description 4
The skulls of American black bears are broad, with narrow muzzles and large jaw hinges. In Virginia, the total length of adult bear skulls was found to average 262 to 317 mm (10.3 to 12.5 in). Across its range, greatest skull length for the species has been reportedly measured from 23.5 to 35 cm (9.3 to 13.8 in). Females tend to have slenderer and more pointed faces than males. Their claws are typically black or grayish-brown. The claws are short and rounded, being thick at the base and tapering to a point. Claws from both hind and front legs are almost identical in length, though the foreclaws tend to be more sharply curved. The paws of the species are relatively large, with a rear foot length of 13.7 to 22.5 cm (5.4 to 8.9 in), which is proportionately larger than other medium-sized bear species but much smaller than the paws of large adult brown, and especially polar, bears. The soles of the feet are black or brownish, and are naked, leathery, and deeply wrinkled. The hind legs are relatively longer than those of Asiatic black bears. The vestigial tail is usually 4.8 inches (120 mm) long. The ears are small and rounded, and are set well back on the head.
Black bears are highly dexterous, being capable of opening screw-top jars and manipulating door latches. They also have great physical strength. They have been known to turn over flat-shaped rocks weighing 310 to 325 pounds (141 to 147 kg) by flipping them over with a single foreleg. They move in a rhythmic, sure-footed way and can run at speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour (40 to 48 km/h). Black bears have good eyesight and have been proven experimentally to be able to learn visual color discrimination tasks faster than chimpanzees and as fast as dogs. They are also capable of rapidly learning to distinguish different shapes such as small triangles, circles, and squares.
Black bear weight tends to vary according to age, sex, health, and season. Seasonal variation in weight is very pronounced: in autumn, their pre-den weight tends to be 30% higher than in spring, when black bears emerge from their dens. Black bears on the East Coast tend to be heavier on average than those on the West Coast, although black bears follow Bergmann’s rule and bears from the Northwest are often slightly heavier than the bears from the Southeast. Adult males typically weigh between 57–250 kg (126–551 lb), while females weigh 33% less at 41–170 kg (90–375 lb).
In the state of California, studies have indicated that the average mass is 86 kg (190 lb) in adult males and 58 kg (128 lb) in adult females. Adult black bears in Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Alaska were found to average 87.3 kg (192 lb) in males and 63.4 kg (140 lb) in females, whereas on Kuiu Island in southeast Alaska (where nutritious salmon are readily available) adult bears averaged an estimated 115 kg (254 lb). In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, adult males averaged 112 kg (247 lb) and adult females averaged 47 kg (104 lb) per one study. In Yellowstone National Park, a population study found that adult males averaged 119 kg (262 lb) and adult females averaged 67 kg (148 lb). In New York state, the two sexes reportedly average 135 kg (298 lb) and 74 kg (163 lb), respectively. Adults typically range from 120 to 200 cm (47 to 79 in) in head-and-body length, and 70 to 105 cm (28 to 41 in) in shoulder height. The typically small tail is 7.7–17.7 cm (3.0–7.0 in) long. Although they are the smallest species in North America, large males exceed the size of other bear species except the brown bear and polar bears.
The biggest wild American black bear ever recorded was a male from New Brunswick, shot in November 1972, that weighed 409 kg (902 lb) after it had been dressed, meaning it weighed an estimated 500 kg (1,100 lb) in life, and measured 2.41 m (7.9 ft) long. Another notably outsized wild black bear, weighing in at 408 kg (899 lb) in total, was the cattle-killer shot in December 1921 on the Moqui Reservation in Arizona. The record-sized bear from New Jersey was shot in Morris County December 2011 and scaled 376.5 kg (830 lb). Even larger, the most massive black bear recorded in Pennsylvania (one of six weighing over 363 kg (800 lb) shot in the last 15 years in the state) weighed in at 399 kg (880 lb) and was shot in November 2010 in Pike County. The North American Bear Center, located in Ely, Minnesota, is home to the world’s largest captive male and female black bears. Ted, the male, weighed 431–453.5 kg (950–1,000 lb) in the fall of 2006. Honey, the female, weighed 219.6 kg (484 lb) in the fall of 2007.
The fur is soft, with dense underfur and long, coarse, thick guard hairs. The fur is not as shaggy or coarse as that of brown bears. American black bear skins can be distinguished from those of Asiatic black bears by the lack of a white mark on the chin and hairier footpads. Despite their name, black bears show a great deal of color variation. Individual coat colors can range from white, blond, cinnamon, or light brown to dark chocolate brown or to jet black, with many intermediate variations existing. Bluish-tinged black bears occur along a portion of coastal Alaska and British Columbia. White to cream-colored black bears occur in coastal islands and the adjacent mainland of southwestern British Columbia. Albino specimens have also been recorded. Black coats tend to predominate in moist areas such as Maine, New York, Tennessee, Michigan and western Washington. Approximately 70% of all black bears are black, though only 50% of black bears in the Rocky Mountains are black. Many black bears in northwestern North America are cinnamon, blond or light brown in color, and thus may sometimes be mistaken for grizzly bears. Grizzly (and other types of brown) bears can be distinguished by their shoulder hump, larger size and broader, more concave skull.
In his book The Great Bear Almanac, Gary Brown summarized the predominance of black or brown/blond specimens by location:
Dietary habits 4
Generally, American black bears are largely crepuscular in foraging activity, though may actively feed at any time. Up to 85% of the black bear’s diet consists of vegetation, though they tend to dig less than brown bears, eating far fewer roots, bulbs, corms and tubers than the latter species. When initially emerging from hibernation, they will seek to feed on carrion from winter-killed animals and newborn ungulates. As the spring temperature warms, black bears seek new shoots of many plant species, especially new grasses, wetland plants and forbs. Young shoots and buds from trees and shrubs during the spring period are also especially important to black bears emerging from hibernation, as they assist in rebuilding muscle and strengthening the skeleton and are often the only digestible foods available at that time. During summer, the diet largely comprises fruits, especially berries and soft masts such as buds and drupes. During the autumn hyperphagia, feeding becomes virtually the full-time task of black bears. Hard masts become the most important part of the black bear’s diet in autumn and may even partially dictate the species distribution. Favored masts such as hazelnuts, oak acorns and whitebark pine nuts may be consumed by the hundreds each day by a single black bear during fall. During the fall period, American black bears may also habitually raid the nut caches of tree squirrels. Also extremely important in fall are berries such as huckleberries and buffalo berries. Black bears living in areas near human settlements or around a considerable influx of recreational human activity often come to rely on foods inadvertently provided by humans, especially during summertime. These include refuse, birdseed, agricultural products and honey from apiaries.
The majority of the black bear’s animal diet consists of insects such as bees, yellow jackets, ants and their larvae. Black bears are also fond of honey, and will gnaw through trees if hives are too deeply set into the trunks for them to reach them with their paws. Once the hive is breached, black bears will scrape the honeycombs together with their paws and eat them, regardless of stings from the bees. Black bears that live in northern coastal regions (especially the Pacific coast) will fish for salmon during the night, as their black fur is easily spotted by salmon in the daytime. However, the white-furred black bears of the islands of western Canada have a 30% greater success rate in catching salmon than their black-furred counterparts. Other fish including suckers, trout and catfish are readily caught when possible. Although black bears do not often engage in active predation of other large animals for much of the year, the species will regularly prey on mule and white-tailed deer fawns in spring, given the opportunity. Bears may catch the scent of hiding fawns when foraging for something else and then sniff them out and pounce. As the fawns reach 10 days of age, they can outmaneuver the bears and their scent is soon ignored until the next year. Black bear have also been recorded similarly preying on elk calves in Idaho and moose calves in Alaska.
Black bear predation on adult deer is rare but has been recorded. They may even hunt prey up to the size of adult female moose, which are considerably larger than themselves, by ambushing them. There is at least one record of a male black bear killing two bull elk over the course of six days by chasing them into deep snow banks which impeded their movements. In Labrador, black bears are exceptionally carnivorous, living largely off caribou, usually sickly, young or dead specimens, and rodents such as voles. This is believed to be due to a paucity of edible plant life in this sub-Arctic region and a local lack of competing large carnivores (including other bear species). Like brown bears, black bears try to use surprise to ambush their prey and target the sickly animals in herds. Once a deer fawn is captured, it is frequently torn apart alive while feeding. If able to capture a mother deer in spring, the bear frequently begins feeding on the udder of lactating females, but generally prefers meat from the viscera. Black bears often drag their prey to cover, preferring to feed in seclusion. The skin of large prey is stripped back and turned inside out with the skeleton usually left largely intact. Unlike wolves and coyotes, black bears rarely scatter the remains of their kills. Vegetation around the carcass is usually matted down by black bears, and their droppings are frequently found nearby. Black bears may attempt to cover remains of larger carcasses, though they do not do so with the same frequency as cougars and grizzly bears. They will readily consume eggs and nestlings of various birds and can easily access many tree nests, even the huge nest of the bald eagle. Black bears have been reported stealing deer and other animals from human hunters.
Sources and Credits
(c) Michael Webber, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelwebber/5853583527/ (c) 116916927065934112165, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Matt Muir, https://picasaweb.google.com/116916927065934112165/INaturalist4#5780987346233114850 (c) oldbilluk, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbilluk/5961873541/ (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear
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Understanding Skull Size in Evaluating Trophy Black Bear
Black bears can be one of the most difficult big game animals to judge before the shot. It can be difficult for hunters to decide what makes a trophy bear, or more importantly, a bear that is going to meet their personal standard. Unlike antlered ungulates, several factors play into the overall evaluation of a black bear. In any type of deer hunting, antlers are everything. A hunter doesn’t care if it has a small body or if its hide is in good shape, as long at the horns are all there. In bears, four factors play into trophy evaluation and discussion of the four areas is relevant: skull size, body weight, hide quality and color phase. Not all four are equal and combinations often outweigh strength in one specific trait. In this article we’ll discuss skull size. Read on, you might just learn something about bear skulls.
Skull Size
Skull size is the basis by which all the record keeping organizations score bears. It is, in essence, like the “horns” of a whitetail or elk. The skull is a significant part of the trophy status of a bear, albeit, the most difficult to estimate. Bears are measured by the dried length and width of their skulls. Record keeping organizations choose to use the skull because it’s the one thing on a bear that can be measured consistently. Weight may seem the best bear-to-bear comparator, but it poses many variables, such as how to certify scales and whether to use dressed or undressed weights. What about animals that are capped and quartered during retrieval? Clearly, skull size is the best way to compare and track bears.
It is difficult to estimate the exact score of a bear while it’s alive because the units of measurement that separate them are usually in 16ths of an inch. Under the hair, muscle and fat of a bear’s face, it’s hard to be exact. It is possible, however, to grade bears into size categories with some consistency in the field. Categorizing animals is simplistic at best and doesn’t tell the whole story, but it helps. The four classifications I use to think about skull sizes would be like shirt sizes – small, medium, large and extra-large:
Bear < 18” (bears less than 18 inches) (small) 18-19 (medium) 19 -21 (large) bear > 21 (X-large) (bears greater than 21 inches)
To put this into perspective, an 18” bear would be comparable to a 125” whitetail, a 21-inch bear to a 170-inch whitetail (typical). We created a chart to compare whitetail scores with black bear scores. Most people are familiar with the whitetail scoring system, and understanding how your bear compares will give you a greater sense of what you’ve got. A 19-inch bear might not mean anything to you until you realize that it’s equivalent to a 145-inch whitetail, a true trophy for most hunters.
When it comes to field judging skull size, there are many variables. One important factor is the time of year. A spring bear is leaner than a fall bear. A bear that “looks” like he’s got a big, boxy head in the spring may very well be a large skulled bear. When a human loses weight, often times the first place you notice is their face – it can be the same with bears. Vice versa, a fall bear that is carrying an extra 25% of its usually body weight will have a “fatter” head. I once harvested a bear on November 30 whose head looked like a bushel basket. The bear was almost ready to den and was at peak weight. Walking up to the bear, I knew it was a 20-inch plus animal, probably over 21. I was surprised when the bear scored 19 8/16”. The amount of muscle and fat on the bear’s head and jaws were significant and deceptive.
Larger bears that appear to have short, boxy snouts usually aren’t short at all. As a bear grows more mature his facial features fill out, almost like his cheeks grow towards his nose. The snout appears short and thick. Usually this is an indicator of a mature male. Ears can be deceptive as they differ from region to region. Several of the large bears I’ve harvested looked like they had Mickey Mouse ears, making the old adage of “small ears” quite inaccurate. More than size, it’s the placement of the ears that indicates age. Ears lower on the side of the head are a good sign, but bears can keep their ears erect when on alert, especially when entering a bait site.
Age and genetics are the main factors. You can’t control genetics, but you can limit yourself to harvesting mature males. The more mature a male is, the better chance he’ll be sporting a big head. Boars will always have larger skulls than equivalent aged females; very few sows make it over 18 inches.
Looking for other indicators of age is a must even when trying to field judge a high scoring black bear. Big feet, a short neck, thick legs, ears on the side of the head, broad shoulders and a big rump are starters. A forehead crease is an indication of age, but is not always present or visible on big bears. Sometimes a crease is only visible when the bear’s ears are in the fully upright position. Neither of the bears I killed in Alberta last spring had a notable crease, yet they scored 18” and 19 6/16” green. Additionally, sows can also have distinct creases on their foreheads. Last year, a friend shot a sow after thinking it was a boar because it had a deep, distinct crease. From the front, the bear had a blocky head with a crease. From the side profile, however, its head was thin and pointy.
Geographic Differences in Skull Sizes
It would be convenient if there was a direct correlation between skull size and body size. There isn’t, but there are some guidelines that may help. Shooting a large-bodied bear often results in a good scoring bear, but it gets tricky and can go the other way. In some regions in the North, spring bears in the 225-pound range can be Pope and Young qualifiers at 18 inches. I would like to present some generalizations in relation to body size and skull measurements. I reiterate that these are generalizations and bears can easily break the mold.
In Arkansas, a boar bear in the fall weighing 300 pounds will have a chance at breaking the 18-inch mark. By the time a bear reaches 400 pounds he’ll likely be over 19 inches. A 500-pound bear could just as easily scored 19 8/16” as he’ll score over 21 inches. Above 500 pounds, you will not know until you’ve got the skull out of the hide, but will likely be over 19 8/16”. The “300-Pound Rule” for a fall bear making Pope and Young in most parts of North America is a rule that usually works. However, there are exceptions.
Floyd and Linda Gasser of Wisconsin aren’t strangers to Pope and Young bears. Floyd, also a taxidermist, said, “The bears we killed in Saskatchewan last year couldn’t have weighed much over 225 pounds, but they scored over 19 inches. In Wisconsin though, a bear might have to weigh in the 400-pound range to make Pope and Young.” Keep in mind that the Saskatchewan bears were spring weights. By fall they could have easily weighed over 300 pounds. In Wisconsin there’s a bait pile every half mile. “In Ontario in the fall we see bears in the 275-pound range making it in the low 18s. We’ve also killed some bears pushing 500 pounds that didn’t make it to 20 inches.”
Really Big Bears
How long and wide are really big bear skulls? In the most recent awards book printed by the Boone and Crockett Club, they’ve listed all the entries over 20 inches registered in the last three-year period. Typically, bears that are going to score in the low 20-inch range have skulls at least 12.5-inches long and usually 7.5-inches wide. Either measurement could give a little on each side, but you’ll rarely see one out of this range. A 21-inch bear will almost 90% of the time be over 13-inches long and over eight inches wide. In the entry period there was one 21-inch bear that that had a skull length in the 12s. The bear was exceptionally wide – almost nine inches.
Before releasing the string or pulling the trigger, every hunter wants to know that what he’s shooting at is what he thinks it is. Not every hunter has expectations of killing a Boone-and-Crockett-class animal, but we all hope the animal we take home meets our expectations. Use this article as a starter for estimating skull size on black bears.
Black Bear Skull Officially State Record!
Ballantine, MT – Adam Vogel of Ballantine had his black bear skull officially measured by a Boone and Crockett representative and confirmed that the black bear that was shot and killed two months ago is officially the state record by 1/16th of an inch at 21 9/16 inches. Not only was the black bear a state record for weight two months ago at 660 lbs., the official measurements for the big game animal was also the state record for skull size, which is measured by the official Boone and Crocket standards..
Boone and Crockett measurements for black bear are measured in 1/16 inches. The skull was measured at 8 inches wide and 13 9/16 inches long to make the total record at 21 9/16 inches. According to Brad Zundel, one of the few Boone and Crockett scorers in the Billings area; this was his first time measuring a Montana state record that will make it to the “All Time Book”, as he calls it, for trophies.
Adam Vogel, a 2002 graduate of Huntley Project, had to wait 60 days after shooting the whopping black bear before having the skull officially measured.
The 660-lb Black Bear was killed on October 8th near the Vogel Farm, shattering the previous record for weight. It was the first bear to be killed near the Vogel Farm in the 63 years that father Dan Vogel had lived there. Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim stated that they were aware of the biggest bear to date at 505 lbs but this one, he stated, “is worth following up on for measurements and skull sizes” in order for it to be considered official in the Montana Big Game Records books of which became official Wednesday December 10th at day 62.
When asked about what he thought about the record black bear, Brad Zundel stated, “I’m happy for Adam and it was cool to have actually scored a Montana state record”. He continued, “Some people aren’t worthy to shoot record big game animals but about 90% are”. Zundel concluded, “Adam is one of those types of guys worthy and deserving of a trophy like that,” referring to his attitude about hunting and respect for the animals.
Stay tuned to this week’s Yellowstone County News for full coverage and updated breaking news regarding the state record black bear
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