Three Reasons To Hunt Bear

This is my fifth season of black bear hunting, and I feel very blessed to have just harvested my eighth black bear. Each year I hunt two states, which allows me to take one bear in New Hampshire and another one in Maine. All eight of these bears — seven of which we’ve eaten and one that we tragically lost (that’s another story) — have been harvested under the tutelage of far more experienced hunters. I still consider myself a student. My first and most recent bears were both taken over bait, and the six bears in between were harvested over hounds. These last two years I’ve had the opportunity to take two exceptional bears, animals whose lives we continue to celebrate and give thanks for every time we gaze upon their incredible skulls — both of which occupy a place of dignified honor in our home.

There’s a lot of people, even many hunters, who question the need to hunt bears. They struggle to understand why someone would pursue such charismatic, majestic, and long-lived animals when so many species of deer, fowl, or small game are on the menu. So, I thought I’d write a few words here about my motivations. 

First, let me dispel the myth that bears aren’t good eating. Though I’ve read from authors like Steve Rinella that some bears, particularly those feeding on shellfish and carrion, can be somewhat unpalatable, I can assure you that the seven bears I’ve eaten have all been amongst the finest meat I’ve ever dined on. These bears have ranged in weights from 120 to more than 600 pounds, from as young as 2 years old to those that were teenagers. Some have been lean and others quite fat. Yet each one has been a delicious and welcome addition to our table. 

So, of course, I hunt bears for their meat. It’s lean and delicious. Far more like beef than it is like venison, yet milder and less, dare I say “unpleasantly aromatic” than beef. While beef may seem mild to most eaters, if you take some time away from it, focusing on game meats instead, when you eat it again you’ll know what I mean. There’s something distinctly “farmy” about the flavor of steers. Bear has a unique flavor unto itself as well, but it's subtle and goes undetected by most if they aren’t informed about who they’re eating.

So many hunters equate eating game with venison, whether from deer, elk, moose, or caribou. While I truly appreciate venison and eat it regularly, the cervids themselves tend to be lean and what body fat they do have is often a waxy, largely unpalatable tallow. However, a bear, particularly a well-nourished bear preparing for his or her winter den, is a fat affair, and in this way more resembles a domestic pig than a deer. This adipose tissue, which can be easily be rendered down to an oil, is a second reason to hunt bears. They’re a source of wild lard. In fact, for the last 5 years, I’ve made enough bear fat to cook within our kitchen and to supplement my dog’s diet with too. Being largely composed of the monounsaturated fat oleic acid (like olive oil) this oil is softer than lard and even easier to digest. 

Then there’s the hide. While of course, we can get hides from any animal we hunt, the pelt of a black bear is uniquely luxurious. It’s strikingly gorgeous, thick, and luscious. Once tanned they can be made into anything from rugs to coats to bedspreads. While buckskin from deer is a wonderful textile, bear is in a category all its own. 

And, consider this; while the cervid herds of North America — from which we get our venison — face the rapidly expanding threat of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a prion disease with a 100% case fatality rate, bears are free of this threat. While we hope that our herds somehow overcome it, there’s the concern that CWD could eventually end North American deer hunting as we know it today, since most hunters are choosing not to consume the meat of CWD infected animals. While there have been, as of the time of this writing, no known cases of CWD transmission to humans, prion diseases are notoriously slow to present themselves and this is still not outside the realm of possibility. Bears, however, remain… well… fair game. 

So, I’ll keep hunting these beautiful, charismatic animals. I’ll eat bear meat, cook in bear fat, wear the hides. And, I’ll celebrate this incredible animal, who might just be the most versatile and important wild food on our landscape.