ND man accused of illegally killing Wis bear
Feb 26, 2009 12:13 AM (8 hrs ago) By JAMES MacPHERSON, AP

A North Dakota man accused of illegally killing a 700-pound black bear in Wisconsin told authorities he had gone deer hunting and mistook the bear for a big buck, a game warden says.

Michael C. Graff, 57, of West Fargo, was charged Monday in Dunn County, Wis., with hunting bear during a closed season, shooting or harming a hibernating bear, and shooting a bear without a license.

Graff is slated to appear in court on March 22, said David Hausman, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources warden supervisor. Graff faces up to 27 months in jail and $30,000 in fines if convicted on the misdemeanor charges, the warden said.

Telephone calls to Graff's home on Wednesday were not answered.

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Wardens initially believed the bear had been killed by a combine in a corn field in November in northwest Wisconsin, but a tip from a citizen led authorities to Graff, Hausman said.

Wildlife officials in North Dakota and Wisconsin were involved in the investigation, he said.

Graff later told authorities that he shot the bear while deer hunting, and mistook the sleeping bruin for a big buck, Hausman said.

Graff has relatives in Wisconsin, Hausman said.

"That's what brought him here to hunt deer," Hausman said. "During the hunt, he encountered a hibernating bear in a corn field, and he shot it."

Hausman said the bear was hit by a combine the next day, and the farmer, Neil Schlough, believed he had killed the animal and notified authorities.

"At that time, we didn't have any reason to believe it had been shot," Hausman said.

"We seized the hide and the skull as evidence of a crime," he said.

Hausman said the farmer who thought he had killed the bear with his combine wants the carcass, and has threatened to sue to get it back.

"The farmer wants it back but I'm not going to speculate if that will happen," Hausman said.

The bear could challenge the Wisconsin record for its size, Hausman said.

The size of the skull is what it takes to get it into the record book, Hausman said, but no official measurement had been taken as of Wednesday.

"A 400-pound bear is a big bear and this one is alleged to be more than 700 pounds," Hausman said.

He would like to see the stuffed carcass on public display.

"Because of it's unusual size, and the unusual case, it has a lot of interest," he said.

Wow, that's an odd story. Never heard of a bear hibernating in a corn field. He must have just been laying on the ground? I wish the hunter luck on the "I mistook a 700 pound bear for a big buck" defense. Idiot.

Maybe he shot an already dead bear?

I've been following this story over on BSB forums.

What was failed to be mentioned in this story is that WI Game Wardens issued a tag for the bear to the farmer which he had to pay for to keep the bear. I know most of these kind of trophy animals go to auction to the highest bidder, or are preserved by the States Wildlife Division when they are killed illegaly. In this case however they made a mistake and should return the famer the bear when all is said and done. From what I understand this will not be the case and I don't even know if they issued the Farmer a refund on the tag.

As far as I know so far they haven't issed a refund. I would say once they took the farmers money and give him a recipt for it they had a binding contract with the farmer.

It is my belief that they want the bear becsuse it is so big. Unless can prove the bear was killed by the hunter they don't have a case.

The bear could have been dead all ready when the combine hit it or the combine could have killed or the hunter could have just wounded it or the hunter could have killed it. All those things have to be proven or disproven.

If the bear was shot and killed illegally then it is evidence and becomes property of the state.
If the bear was killed by the farmer accidentally then it appears that he could purchase it with the tag.

If the wardens, in good faith, allowed the farmer to buy the tag but later found out that the bear was not killed by him the he is not entitled to it and a refund is in order.

Doesn't sound like it's going to be a hard case to prove, as the guy already admitted to shooting it. At 57, I don't imagine it's his first year hunting and will have a tough time explaining that he doesn't know the difference between a deer and a bear (though I suppose they both look dark if shooting way after legal hours). In light of significant jail/fines I'll make a prediction now that the guy pleads guilty to lesser charges to avoid the "hammer". State keeps the bear. Farmer gets a refund and an apology.

Do bears commonly hibernate in corn fields?

A 700lb bear hibernates any where it wants

The Schloughs were offered a refund but declined as they want the bear back. As for the apology, I don't think so.
The game warden confiscated the bear's hide and skull from the Schlough's taxidermist and they did not find out
about it for about a month. When the Schloughs contacted the game warden, he told them that if he had known the
bear was that big he would not have let them keep it. They have started a petition to try to get the bear back.
I really don't know if that will do any good, as erict stated, it's evidence.

Overall it has been a disappointing situation for the Schloughs. Neil said he has never really had time to hunt
and fish so this was going to be his "trophy".

BTW, this info is directly from the Schloughs - they have been friends of our family for over 30 years.

Also I was told (not by the Schloughs) that the guy who shot it went to buy a tag. When he found out he couldn’t
get an over the counter bear tag, he went back home to North Dakota instead of reporting his "mistake". Obviously
he knew it wasn't a buck.

This was not the first time I have heard of bears hibernating in a corn field. A couple of years ago my uncle
saw a bear in the same situation. It was hibernating in a depression in the corn field with corn stalks pulled
over itself.

Seems there are a lot of assumptions to this tale.

I'm not too familiar with bear habits in Wisconsin, but isn't Nov. a bit early for a bear to go into full hibernation?

Obviously the dude who killed it might not be telling the "rest of the story" either. It's possible he shot the bear nearby, and it moved into the cornfield where it died before the farmer gave it a haircut.

It is not uncommon for bears to be in hibernation by late November in WI. It is also not uncommon for them to hibernate in standing cornfields. That has been witnessed on multiple occassions in our area.

I agree with you that the guy who shot the bear is probably not telling the "rest of the story".
However, it would be a little tough to get a 700 lb bear into a standing cornfield without knocking down a lot of corn.

quote:

Originally posted by 16Point:

I agree with you that the guy who shot the bear is probably not telling the "rest of the story".
However, it would be a little tough to get a 700 lb bear into a standing cornfield without knocking down a lot of corn.

I didn't mean that someone moved the bear into the corn field. Rather the bear, wounded elsewhere, wandered there and died. Then the farmer drove his combine over it.

Thanks Kathi for bringing such posts to our attention.

I'd be very surprised if Mr. Schlough gets the bear's head and hide back. If the 'authorities' desire it for public display because of its size, then its outcome is sealed for sure. You know what they say about fighting city hall goes double when dealing with a state's wildlife division.

I hope Michael C. Graff, 57, of West Fargo gets the book thrown at him. His actions are the epitome of 'slob hunter.' He should lose his hunting privileges forever.