I just received a letter from the Alaska Fish & Wildlife folks stating that the brown bear that I killed on Admiralty Island this past May was 24 years old. I was somewhat amazed; how long on average do these guys usually live - my guess would have been 12-14 years, but apparently I was wrong.

I have heared that 30 years is the extreem end for a brown bear. At 24 yours was verrry old.

I took one with a client in Katmai spring 08 that had all the earmarks of many hard years. I told the hunter at the time you did him a favor.

When I skinned the head out three of the teeth and part of the bone from the lower jaw stayed attached to the lip and not the head.

If you look real close at the mouth you can see the how broken the teeth are. This bear also had the longest claws I ever saw on a bear.

I would sure Like to see a photo of that 24 year old bear.

Frank ; what did your bear sq. . As the population increases we are getting alot more old bears in Southeast ... A friend got charged by a 26 year old bear that he killed with his pistol , albeit a 500 Smith . The bear squared over 8 ft , like 8'9" if I remember but he , he's a bear guide , and ADF&G figured that when the bear was in it,s prime it probly was a 9'6" sq. bear .. It,s teeth were wore down and rotten , and it had no fat on it , and this was in early fall and the fish runs had been good enough ... As I recall , I could be wrong , but wasn,t the bear that ate treadwell 24 or 26 years old .... You did us a favor , Old brown bears are dangerous ....

My clients have taken three very old bears with most teeth gone. In only one were they able to get the age and it was 30 1/2. I think 32 is the oldest recorded in the wild in Alaska. in zoos Grizzlies, blacks and polar bears have all reached 40.

My bear squared at 8'9"; some of his teeth were Very worn, & one of his front teeth was missing.

A few years ago, I backed a friend on one on Baronof that aged 23 and squared 8'.

From ADF&G Wildlife Notes:

"The oldest brown bear in Alaska was a 39 year old female, while the oldest male was 38."

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pu.../biggame/brnbear.php

I killed this old boy here on the Naknek River last fall. The local biologist estimated his age to be close to 30 years.

Thats a nice looking trophy KingSalmon !! welcome to AR forums ....
Frank , Your bear may have squared bigger a few years earlier But a 9 foot bear is a great trophy ...... Most arn,t that big ....Antlers , was that bear a boar or a sow ?? ..... I guess that would be a good question , Phil would know ,, prolly others also , Do sows get as big as boars ?????. I know I have heard of 10ft sq sows , but have never seen one ...

Here's an ancient old boar we took a few yrs ago on Shuyak Island. He had the feet and frame of a huge bear but was obviously near the end of his life. Not an ounce of fat,withered and his hide as you can see was barely furred,his skull was 28"and some change. We were very lucky as we just happened on him in the middle of the island while trekking to Bear Creek.

Wonderful picture posting!

Ya , it,s great . You got them sized well , I usually put them on when they are still 2 foot wide .. Nice looking country . nice and green ..... That bottom pic is a very good one ... He looks like he got tired and laid down for a rest ... Whats the biggest sow you have seen or killed Jim ???

I have been in on the taking of a couple of 9' sows but saw 1 that was as big as the boar we took that was with her. He was 10'+ with a 28 6/8" skull.

Here is one I shot on Phil Shoemakers place. I have no idea how old he was.

I shot a black bear in Canada that had lots of tooth damage. never did find out how old he was. But when we skined him he looke like a very old dog that was starting to die.

Looks like my ex-wife/ Chaz