Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024

  I headed into the woods early to make sure I would be able to sit for a while before looking for the bear. I know there have been a lot of deer in the area, and I hoped I would see one. However, after climbing into the stand and waiting for daylight, I had an uneasy feeling bouncing around inside my head. 

  I did't last long in the tree. I know I made a lethal shot on the bear, and I wanted to get after it as soon as possible. I do have a few cell cameras in the area, and last night there were two really big bears that headed in the direction where the wounded bear ran after being hit. On top of that, a big bobcat also made its way past the camera. Seeing the pictures when I woke up, I had suspicions that they were headed toward a dead animal to have a feast, but I couldn't be certain about my theory. 

 After getting out of the tree and doing a bunch of circles, I didn't come up with anything. Finally, I decided to call it a day but not before looking near some cliffs that had a cedar swamp at the base of them. I wasn't sure, but I thought the bear might head to water for relief or back into the cliffs for protection. I hadn't found any blood at all, but I did find some guts here and there, especially right where the arrow went through the animal. 

  As I began repelling down the cliff, I looked at a wet spot in the swamp at the base of it... and there it was... the dead bear. Looking closer, I felt a pit in my stomach. I would not be taking the bear home with me. The animals of the forest had taken less than 14 hours to devour it from one end to the other. The only thing left of it was the head. It appeared that bears had done the damage. It was like they had a meal of raw meat. I did take a few pictures of the head on a log, and it was a good bear. Although I was highly disappointed, I couldn't have done anything differently. I made a gut shot, and you can't chase an animal that has been gut shot. You have to let it go and pursue it the next day. Almost all gut shot animals will die within 300 yards if you don't bump them. Once they lie down, the poison will seep into their system, and they will expire where they are bedded. The only positive of the situation is that I know I made a good enough shot to kill the animal, and it didn't appear that it had suffered at all. It looked like it actually fell down while walking. I found no evidence that it ever bedded, and it had only gone about 300 yards from where I shot it. 

  I'd share the pictures, but I don't feel right about doing that since I never actually recovered the bear in a state that would allow be to take it out of the woods. Instead, the cycle of life played out, and the bear went directly back into the food chain of the other animals with which it lived every day. That was the silver lining in a dreary day.