Yesterday morning when I took my dogs for a walk I found this pile of fresh (overnight) Grizzly poop about 80yds from my gate.



Then last night while I was walking a few hundred yards behind my place I heard a bunch of ravens squawking. I went to see what they were doing and found this dead doe.



Obviously shot and lost in the last few hours. The ravens had already eaten its eyes and were working on tunneling in through its “back door”.
This all seemed like a great opportunity to see if I could get some pics of a carnivore so I set up my trailcam on a nearby stump. I took a piece of wire and wrapped the deers head to the tree so that anything eating the carcass would stay in frame for at least a few minutes.

This was the setup when I left at about 7pm.



When I went back to check this morning it was pouring rain. I snuck in to about 100yds but could not clearly see the “deer tree”. When I got within about 50yds I could see that the deer was GONE!

Here is where it gets a little exciting. The only thing big enough to rip that deer from the tree would be a bear, and the last thing I ever want to do is walk in on a bear protecting its kill. I did have my big dog with me on a leash. I know that she absolutely will go after bears so I figured if things got ugly I would just cut her loose as a distraction and make a hasty retreat.

We took a big loop out and around the spot where the camera was but saw nothing. So while making plenty of noise we slowly moved in to retrieve the trailcam.

It would be safe to say that I had a very heightened state of awareness while unraveling the wire holding the camera to the stump!

When I got home I looked at the photos and was quite impressed, more so when I saw that he was on this deer 2 hrs and 20 mins after I left…………………………….



Remember that is a mature whitetail deer on the ground.





The rest of the story…………….
I showed the pics to my neighbor who just happens to be the regional grizzly biologist for the USFWS. He traps and tracks these things for a living. He said it is bear #722 and it is well over 500lbs. This bear was originally collared in 2011. He is 19yrs old and travels between two giant drainages north of me and up into Canada. He makes this trip down into my area every fall to literally feed on gut piles and lost deer/elk just prior to denning. He gets some much needed last minute calories and cleans up carcasses that would otherwise be lost.

Nothing goes to waste!

Good hunting, JCS

That is really neat! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thanks JC for sharing that exciting story. I'm off in the morning to head to your great state to hunt elk near Two Dot. My first time there. My group has hunted there many times as did my Dad starting 30 plus years ago. A grizzly killed a calf a few weeks back near Two Dot. That area is not typically grizzly country. As you said, they move around. Thanks again.

if not for the hump...
the face looks like a black bears.
almost a black bear with a brown muzzle.
I'm sure it's the lighting and the B&W pictures.

Cool pics Jay
We just had young Gris trapped on golf course do n from my house

.

If you go out in the woods today
You're sure for a big surprise
If you go down in the woods today
You better go in disguise !

How awesome is that! And exactly how far from your house?

.

Yes cool pictures. I would think you most likely were armed at the time you set it up and retrieved the cam.

I have put game cams out in similar situations.

I have plenty of pictures of coyotes, wolves bobcats, eagles, fox. ravens, crows, badgers.

Even through we have lots of black bears around not many pictures of them.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Yes cool pictures. I would think you most likely were armed at the time you set it up and retrieved the cam.

I have my Glock 20 on me every minute I'm outside my house. When I'm out walking like that I generally have a little custom Ruger Hawkeye 308 slung over my shoulder.

PS that deer and ultimately the trail cam were about 400 yards behind my house.

Very cool! Thanks for the pictures and nice to know the biologist and get some info on the bear.

Impressive boar!

Ladies and gentlemen , Jay is Predators predator
Back in them days, he’d be chief of cave and them hairy women’s wet dream...

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Ladies and gentlemen , Jay is Predators predator
Back in them days, he’d be chief of cave and them hairy women’s wet dream...

Thanks Milan, I think?

Nice pics.

It’s amazing the things that unexpectedly show up on trail cams.
Over the years I’ve got pics of Beaver & Otter (nowhere near the water), a Mt Lion in NE MO and a homeless guy that was eating bait.

Very neat pictures and experience!

Very cool.

I just love such stories.

A few months ago a friend in India posted some photos on Whatsapp of a leopard taking a dog from a house and trying to get out of the property. The carcass got stuck on the gate railing with those spikes on it. A real ugly mess but a great reminder that a leopard prowls around the neighbourhood.