Son got bear ! Bear has white worms??

[mcmullmar]

Good news, son got first bear!! Bad news it had long thin white worms on the meat. Does anyone know what these are? Is the meat still good to eat.

Thank you

Will post pics soon

[Sofa King]

is the meat still good to eat?
well, do you like worms?

unless they are some bad type of squirmy things, lots of things have worms that we eat.
hold a lighter under a slab of fish, sometimes lots of gross little worms will squiggle out.

personally, I wouldn't eat bear anyway.
I like to eat deer and moose, not animals that also eat deer and moose.

[Sofa King]

congrats to your son.
good job.

[Rhyno]

Good news, son got first bear!! Bad news it had long thin white worms on the meat. Does anyone know what these are? Is the meat still good to eat.

Thank you

Will post pics soon

This is the number one reason I don't gut bears! I have seen these in half the Bears I have dealt with......all probably had them. Don't tell the wife, try not to think about it and enjoy the pepperoni! Congrats to your son...where's the picture!

[The Dawg]

Trich worms!

Cook em and they are safe to eat.

Gross...but safe!

[goatdancer]

White worms in bears are spirit worms...............

[dakoda62]

Trichinosis. Cook meat to at least 165 deg f. or freeze for at least 3 months before consuming.

[The Dawg]

Trichinosis. Cook meat to at least 165 deg f. or freeze for at least 3 months before consuming.


Freezing doesnt kill trich

[Chango]

No expert on trichinosis but I came across this about freezing.

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/prevent.html

"Freezing wild game meats, unlike freezing pork products, may not effectively kill all worms because some worm species that infect wild game animals are freeze-resistant."

[tigrr]

Hey Dawg can you always see the Trichinosis worms in the meat? Or are they hidden sometimes.
I've shot 2 bears now and have seen no worms.

[The Dawg]

Hey Dawg can you always see the Trichinosis worms in the meat? Or are they hidden sometimes.
I've shot 2 bears now and have seen no worms.


Not always- but I always treat it like its there.

[Chango]

They create microscopic cysts/eggs with calcium shells all throughout the meat. They hatch open in stomach acid, reproduce then spread throughout the hosts muscle tissue and lay more cysts. Checkout this story from Steve Rinella on contracting Trich from under cooked bear in camp.

https://youtu.be/Rx5ZKJ0Vozc

[Caribou_lou]

Worms don't bother me. Handle and cook the meat properly and your good to go!

[REMINGTON JIM]

I have shot over 2 dozen bears and some have worms and some don't - BUT i DON"T eat wormy meat at all ! :? Feed it to the dogs - they like it ! jmo RJ

[steel_ram]

Filarial worms are quite common in bears on the Island. Just scrape them to the side of your plate and keep eating.

[Paulyman]

Freezing doesnt kill trich
Some forms of trich are killed by freezing, but not all. I would tend to assume all are freeze resistant.

[ekul246]

When I shot my first bear, the butcher I took it to said it had to be frozen for I think it was 30 days before they would butcher it in case of Trichinosis. It was a fall bear and was dining on rotten chum when I shot him...had chorizo fresh sausage and honey garlic pepperoni made. Pepperoni ended up tasting horrible after a while and I still flinch when I taste chorizo..........(shiver).
Looking forward to trying my first spring bear.

[ryanb]

I have dealt with a number of bears that had worms. Seems that those that have been eating salmon typically have them and those that are shot away from salmon bearing streams do not. While safe to eat I'm pretty sure most of us don't really want to eat worms... I know I don't.

[MichelD]

Not trich.

[britman101]

Regardless...trichinosis is widespread in black bears, and you are willing to take the chance of exposing yourself to another parasite, re the white worms. If it was my bear I would cook the crap out of it and use it as dog feed.

[seizuresalad]

I butcher all my own meat, and I see those white worms in most island black bears I've shot. They are not trichinella spiralis worms, which cause trichinosis, and are only about 1-2 mm fully grown. They are filarial worms. They are spread by mosquitoes, black flies, and the like. Bears get them from repeated bites from insects. The filarial worms can be a few centimeters long, and you typically see them bailing out of dead muscle tissue while you're skinning and de-boning black bears. Freezing kills any of these worms remaining in the meat, and they're not particularly well-suited to infecting humans, anyway. Freeze your meat before consuming it, cook it to 165 degrees, as always with bear meat, and you've got perfectly edible meat. I eat it almost every week. No worms popping out of me yet!

[mcmullmar]

Thank s everyone!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Trichinosis worms are generally only 3.5mm long. I'm betting it's a different type of worm. That's what grinders are for.

[Fella]

Probably Filarial worms. Doesn't affect meat quality and is only transmitted through black fly bites (though rarely in humans).

http://wildlifedisease.unbc.ca/bear_filarial_worm.htm

[Hidehanger]

Here is a quick guide (although I suspect they are filarial worms if they are on top of the meat), that you should look at:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/wldhealth/diseases_from_wildlife_safetymanual.pdf
As always, look to published info BEFORE you take advice from a website...

[Rob]

Id use a lighter caliber on the worms, but prolly best to go with a shoulder shot so they dont get up.......I wouldn't eat a steak if it had worms in it...

[835]

Probably Filarial worms. Doesn't affect meat quality and is only transmitted through black fly bites (though rarely in humans).

http://wildlifedisease.unbc.ca/bear_filarial_worm.htm


This is what they are.. they are not Trich worms... trich in bears is different from Pork. Bear Trich is not killable by your home freezer though it can be killed by freezing... the temps are not attainable in your home freezer to kill bear trich.
175 Deg will kill everything.

[wideopenthrottle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nVLiDlzlac most peeps that eat fish have eaten worms too
wide

[Steeleco]

I butcher all my own meat, and I see those white worms in most island black bears I've shot. They are not trichinella spiralis worms, which cause trichinosis, and are only about 1-2 mm fully grown. They are filarial worms. They are spread by mosquitoes, black flies, and the like. Bears get them from repeated bites from insects. The filarial worms can be a few centimeters long, and you typically see them bailing out of dead muscle tissue while you're skinning and de-boning black bears. Freezing kills any of these worms remaining in the meat, and they're not particularly well-suited to infecting humans, anyway. Freeze your meat before consuming it, cook it to 165 degrees, as always with bear meat, and you've got perfectly edible meat. I eat it almost every week. No worms popping out of me yet!

This IS your right answer, you may find the worms in localized areas and not though the entire animal. IE Hip, shoulder, ribs. If it troubles you don't eat that area but eat the others. I've shot my share and only ever had 1 bear that had them, just fed that area to the dog after freezing, she 8 now and want's more!!

[wideopenthrottle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOXvLZHe9DM more scary worms

[1899]

Filarial worms are quite common in bears on the Island. Just scrape them to the side of your plate and keep eating.

Sounds fantastic.

[sawmill]

I butcher all my own meat, and I see those white worms in most island black bears I've shot. They are not trichinella spiralis worms, which cause trichinosis, and are only about 1-2 mm fully grown. They are filarial worms. They are spread by mosquitoes, black flies, and the like. Bears get them from repeated bites from insects. The filarial worms can be a few centimeters long, and you typically see them bailing out of dead muscle tissue while you're skinning and de-boning black bears. Freezing kills any of these worms remaining in the meat, and they're not particularly well-suited to infecting humans, anyway. Freeze your meat before consuming it, cook it to 165 degrees, as always with bear meat, and you've got perfectly edible meat. I eat it almost every week. No worms popping out of me yet!

I quit hunting bears 25 years ago because of all the livestock living in them. If I wanted to eat worms I`d dig `em up in my garden.

[HarryToolips]

white worms in bears are spirit worms...............

lol lol!...........

[solo]

Welcome to organic food. This is why industrial livestock operations use antibiotics. Organic lettuce and produce has worms too! Hopefully you can get past the squeamishness about all the lice and ticks and internal vermin that infest pretty much all wild meats and enjoy it.

[hare_assassin]

Welcome to organic food. This is why industrial livestock operations use antibiotics.

Misinformation.

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.

[ElectricDyck]

Cook it to temp and get over it, it's good meat generally depending on what they're eating...lower mainland deer have ticks..salmon have worms, fast food ground beef is washed with amonia to kill the ecola, chicken is a genetically engineered ****** animal that is now dead to me lol, you're eating way better eating wild then from the store...

[REMINGTON JIM]

Besides WORMS ! :frown: its VERY high in Cholesterol :-? Not for me ! Dog food only ! jmo RJ

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/lamb-veal-and-game-products/4620/2

[Ohwildwon]

Besides WORMS ! :frown: its VERY high in Cholesterol :-? Not for me ! Dog food only ! jmo RJ

But its the Good Cholesterol :lol:

[Ohwildwon]

Actually, looking at the website provided by RJ above, shows these results (percentage of daily amount) for cholesterol per serving ...

Bear 90%

Deer 127%

Elk 83%

Moose 88%

[browningboy]

If I seen worms, I wouldn't eat it, just mentally couldn't do it, gross me out

[wideopenthrottle]

Actually, looking at the website provided by RJ above, shows these results (percentage of daily amount) for cholesterol per serving ...

Bear 90%

Deer 127%

Elk 83%

Moose 88%

was that nutritional info for bear WITH or WITHOUT the "spirit-bear" worms included