Bear with an ear tag on trailcam?

[caddisguy]

I will get the footage up soon, but I am 99% certain I have a bear with an ear tag on trailcam.

A couple weeks back I was reading that they suggest not shooting animals with tags as they may have been tranquilized or given other medications. I thought I recalled reading previously they recommended not factoring in a tag as a decision to harvest or not because they wanted the data? Anyone know which it is? Or maybe there is a difference between tags and collars? I have no intention of shooting the bear (getting fat trying to eat through my freezers so I can chase deer again) just wondered what might have led to this tagged bear appearing around one of my camps (hopefully not a relocated troublemaker from the city)

Bonus I also found some footage of the archery buck we harvested from the day prior. That was pretty cool. And a pine martin jumping around being silly :) I'll try to get all the footage up soon or at least some pics (video I am putting them in is almost 30 mins and has all sorts of other stuff)

[caddisguy]

So yeah here's the bear... just a quick still clip for now... my laptop is about to catch fire from video rendering

Looks like an ear tag to me and it looks like the ribs on this side are poking out (maybe road rash?) Seems well fed but maybe an injury on that side? That said, I've never seen a bear interested in salt this time of year. Seems kinda weird. Hopefully it will live a good life doing bear things and staying out of trouble but given past experiences this puts me on a little more alert but hopefully this bear enjoyed the deer carcass... it was pretty much gone... wish I put a cam on that to see if Tag (named it) showed up at the party.

I think this bear is just fine for now, now troubles around camp at all. It's probably the same bear I detoured around during the bow stalk. Let me pass by and didn't make a peep. Good bear... hopefully enjoyed the gutpile... some things sure did.

https://imgur.com/5d9ffbbc-45d2-44d2-9cf4-9233cb6813e9https://imgur.com/c10lOekhttps://i.imgur.com/c10lOek.png

[caddisguy]

And just for fun, got some video of the 3 point on trailcam the day before I got him with the arrow... guess he made the trailcam debut after all but found it after

https://i.imgur.com/rwWnk7T.png

[Steeleco]

They had to make it sleepy to tag it, so I too believe we should avoid the meat. Cool to see but he/she gets a hall pass in my mind!

[Redthies]

If you read the bit on tags/collars in the regs, they don’t discourage shooting tagged or collared animals. They do say you have to return the tag or collar to the ministry and provide details of where/when you shot it. They will then tell you if the meat is safe for consumption. I personally would not bother wasting a bullet and one of my tags on an animal I can’t eat. I’m not out there for my health! Well, in some ways I am...

[caddisguy]

I just went back and checked page 14 of the synopsis. It definitely says not to avoid hunting animals with ear tags, but goes on to say to contact the ministry so they can obtain their data and I guess they can confirm whether or not the meat is safe. Here's what it it says:

"Please DO NOT AVOID hunting animals with ear tags or collars, unless specified under regional sections in the synopsis. This will ensure that biologists acquire accurate data on mortality rates. If you kill a marked animal, please contact your local Ministry office with the number on the ear tag or collar because the meat may not be safe to eat if immobilization drugs were used. Ear
tags and collars must be returned to the Ministry office."

So I guess ultimately they do not want the ear tag to be the deciding factor. No problem there. I have a long list of other reasons not to hunt Tag or any of the other half dozen bears poking around there.

[MichelD]

I shot one with a tag once and called it in and they never said anything about not safe to eat. it had been tagged when trapped in Maple Ridge and released way up at the end of Sowaqua FSR. I got it in the next drainage south of there.

[caddisguy]

I shot one with a tag once and called it in and they never said anything about not safe to eat. it had been tagged when trapped in Maple Ridge and released way up at the end of Sowaqua FSR. I got it in the next drainage south of there.

I imagine in most cases the meat is safe to eat. Speculating the tranquilliser is only present for a shot period of time and they just put that in the regs for the one off chance a hunter harvests a bear within a few days of getting the sleepy bear tag... plus it adds insensitive to call it in and they get their data. Win win.

That is very cool you got to learn the history behind your bear. I wish I knew what happened to this one. Definitely something going on with that right side. Darn near looks like the lungs are exposed. Probably not though... probably just missing fur.

[HeadingOutside]

I work with large animals and medications including those used to sedate them.
You'd have to be harvesting the animal within a week, maybe two of it being tagged to have to worry about residual meds. Even then you'll be fine if you don't have an allergy to it. Fret not.

[caddisguy]

I work with large animals and medications including those used to sedate them.
You'd have to be harvesting the animal within a week, maybe two of it being tagged to have to worry about residual meds. Even then you'll be fine if you don't have an allergy to it. Fret not.

Wow that is longer than I thought. Good info. Thanks!

Disclaimer in the regs is probably more motivated by getting their ear tag data than food safety :)

Well lucky for all deer and bears at this time our freezers are all full. I'll be lucky to eat through enough to be able to chase another deer come rut time but it is a challenge I am willing to accept

[Walking Buffalo]

I work with large animals and medications including those used to sedate them.
You'd have to be harvesting the animal within a week, maybe two of it being tagged to have to worry about residual meds. Even then you'll be fine if you don't have an allergy to it. Fret not.

Can you provide any research to back up your claim?

Most jurisdictions will advise not to consume animals that have been tranquilized within the last 12 months.

The problem is that these drugs have not been tested for human consumption.

I've shot two tagged animals, a moose and a ewe. Neither had tags that tags were visible as they were tiny buttons that fit fully inside the earlobe.
It really sucks to kill an animal for food only to learn that it may be toxic....

[MichelD]

I shot one with a tag once and called it in and they never said anything about not safe to eat. it had been tagged when trapped in Maple Ridge and released way up at the end of Sowaqua FSR. I got it in the next drainage south of there.

Yes, it was interesting. They said it had been trapped and released with cubs the year before but it was solo when I saw it. Not a big bear either.

Maybe they didn't survive the winter or suffered from being dropped into a larger bear's area.

[browningboy]

Been his first warning! Three strikes you're out!

[boilerroom]

thanks for taking the time to post the bear and deer - super cool to see after reading your stalk story!

[caddisguy]

thanks for taking the time to post the bear and deer - super cool to see after reading your stalk story!

Thanks boilerroom. It was very cool to see trailcam video of that buck. I had been seeing him around for a few weeks prior to bow season and despite cameras in the area I was only seeing some does.

I went back there to recover my arrow over the weekend (after searching for 8 hours I finally found it... both pieces) and had just enough time to check the trailcams. It wasn't until I got home I noticed the buck on a couple of the videos. Also some cool footage of the whitetail doe with the whitetail buck wandering about in the background) ... funny enough in both cases, it seems the only reason the bucks were filmed was from the doe setting off the camera LOL ... also some cool footage of a pine marten jumping around... I wanted to mix Mario Brother sound effects in that one. Anyway I mixed all that in with a long video of the whole arrow recovery trip. Not going to post that whole thing up here as few people want to watch a crazy man "Blair Witch" search for an arrow, but the footage is out there... anyone bored enough to track it down just might be bored enough to watch it :)

Surprising how many bears are hanging out in that patch of timber. Counted 5 or 6 unique bears between cameras and first hand. Not much in the way of berries around there and for quite some ways.