Worms

[jamfarm]

There's a lot of threads on here about bears and worms but does anyone have any pictures of worms in bears that they've shot?

Also, what's your opinion on this question? If you shoot a bear and it's full of worms do you really have to pack it out of the bush after you cut your tag? The Wildlife Act says that you have to remove the 'edible portions'. Is bear meat that is full of worms edible?

[Ozone]

The rules say you have to pack it out. They dont say what you have to do with it one it reaches your home.

[sarg]

thats a touchy subjected i think.
if i found a bunch of worms in my bear meat i would probably leave it in the bush but thats just me. i have yet to find any worms in any of my bears meat or anyones i know, alot people say bears are full of worm and its a garbage meat but i think thats just the people who have had it jammed in to there mind that think that way(just my thoughts no offents to anyone), untill i find any worms in my bear meat i'm thinking it just a myth. thats just my 2cent.
sarg

[Marc]

Guys, I think my reputation follows me on here as being a stand up and trustworthy guy when I tell you that every bear I've shot so far on the island since I moved here in 2003 has had worms.

The ones I've seen are transmitted by black flies and are safe for human consumption.

Here is a picture of what they look like and K-1 and Donk who has hunted with me has seen these as well. I've only taken bears from Nanaimo Lakes south so I can only comment on bears taken from the south half of the Island.

http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases/dirofilaria_ursi_image1l.htm



http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases/dirofilaria_ursi_image1l.htm

[MuleyMadness]

I have seen worms in bears...it's not a myth. However they are generally confined to the guts, around the intestines and the like. I have never seen them in the actual meat, (under the skin sometimes, not in the meat)ever. Not to say they can't be there, because tric can develop in the muscles, I just haven't seen it, and I have seen a 'few' bears from the inside out (or rather, with their insides out). They do seem to be WAY more common in the fall, perhaps due to the animals feed or earlier access to garbage and carrion during the summer.

It's also something that is completely safe once cooked. Plenty of warm water salmon and other fish have worms too. Shoot a bear this spring and see...you will see. :)

[K-1]

YUP !!! I will say Marc is right. Been there , seen them, and he did eat the meat. The only side affect it has on him is that he gets fat & sleepy around November and stays that way until April. :lol::lol:

[835]

I'll 10-4 Marc as well.

I have almost no experiance with bears but,,,,
last May my buddy shot a bear off the mud flats in Tofino on our bear hunt. I cut the bear. Thoes worms in that link were there. There wasnt tonnes, but if you looked they were there.

That bear was shot in one of most suspect places to find worms as far as i am to read and it wasnt riddled with them. BUT,,, If you dont want to deal with that picture then dont shoot a bear. IMO

There is nothing wrong with them. but they are there

EDIT: And if you get your bear butchered you may never know they are there.

[doubled]

I have shot three or four bears now and not one had worms that I could see. Granted all I did was gut, skin and debone all but I would of thought that if there was some, I would have seen it.

These were all interior bears for the record as well.

[835]

On the 1 i did you had to look close. They can look like there supposed to be there unless you look close.

I dont doubt the possibility of bears without worms. All is say is before killing one look at the picture Marc posted, if you arent ok with it dont kill one.

For the record. Halibut, cod, salmon, trout all get worms. I have found other parasites in moose as well. They are in alot of what we eat. That is part of Organic harvest. Antibiotics take these things out of farmed meat.

I

[bigwhiteys]

I've been in on killing 5 Island black bears, from young boar to old boar and they all had worms. in between the hide and muscle tissue especially in the intestinal area and around the hind quarters up around the backbone etc...

They are very thin, almost transparent sometimes you have to look for them... I had one that was like 2 feet long all coiling around itself, it looked yummy.

If it makes anyone feel any better I found some of these worms in one the Island deer I shot this year, same area of the body.

In the other thread one of the retired outfitters from the island piped up and said that out of hundreds, (keyword "hundreds") of bears skinned on the Island he found worms in every one of them.

I don't think you'll find a bear anywhere that solely eats ONE type of food, only berries, only grass etc... They eat whatever the F$^$ they can find and keep down. A bear to go their entire life (until contact with hunter) without contracting some type of parasite or worm from the food and carrion they scrounge up would be highly unlikely. That is just common sense... (to me anyways)

As mentioned already if you can't handle the worms then don't kill it, or at least have a buddy (or dog) you can give the meat too who won't know any better. Just tell them to cook it well :)

Carl

[WesHarm]

as long as the meats cooked your generally okay though right? As in the worms don't degrade the meet itself?

[835]

Ya cook it to 175deg. they are all dun.

I googled the Freezing thing for tric. It seams the strain of tric in bears is different then Pigs. From what i read the tempratures need to go far below what the average house hold deep freeze gets to. So it is un reliable.

The worms In the pic are not in the meat, they are in the connective tisseues of the meat (the blue bubbley crap).

Regardless, if you cook it to 175 deg you will be just fine and if you get a butcher to cut the meat for you, You will be non the wiser on the worm front. It will just be meat.

Get the worm thing out of your head, it doesnt matter. Go shoot a bear and see what it tastes like.

[WesHarm]

i like the butcher idea :)

[835]

i like the butcher idea :)

Ya it would be the best way to start. Look for a butcher now. Some dont take bears. look in "The meat cutters" Thread. It should be on a stickie.

Bear makes ,,, hands down,,, the best sausage and pep.
But really if you take it to a butcher you most likley will think you have shot a "Worm free bear". Honestly though, there is way too much hype about worms. Yes i have only shot one bear and butchered another but i have friends that shoot them all the time. I have googled the crap out of the processing part though. And what i have to show for it is a bunch of hunting that i missed out on in my past!

[brandonhunter]

I have eaten bear meat from a bear that I knew had worms in it, and I never had any trouble. The meat tasted fine as well.

[4pointer]

I copy all the guys who have seen worms in bears. I've seen them on many. No problems here. As long as its cooked properly. :mrgreen: Speaking so....my freezer's empty....two more weeks!!!

[.270]

Filarial Worms fection with D. ursi does not affect the quality of the meat.
http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/bear_filarial_worm.htm
http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/classified_causative_agent.htm

So looks like you have to pack it out. But just because you kill it doesn't mean you have to pack it out. If the animal has TB, antharax, plague, CWD get the hell away from it!

[wunderboy]

Is this a regional thing? I have never seen worms and I am from vernon. All the worms seem to be on the island. I am not to concerned but does anybody know if that is true and why that might be the case?

[CanuckShooter]

Is this a regional thing? I have never seen worms and I am from vernon. All the worms seem to be on the island. I am not to concerned but does anybody know if that is true and why that might be the case?


Lots of worms in salt water fish....bears eat fish.....;)

[kyleklassen]

haven't run into to many wormy salmon.

[.270]

Is this a regional thing? I have never seen worms and I am from vernon. All the worms seem to be on the island. I am not to concerned but does anybody know if that is true and why that might be the case?

Black flies transmit the worm larva. There are many types of this worm, even Asiatic bears have them. Others infect humans in tropical regions. This particular type is found in Canada, US including Alaska only in black bears. It could be that in some specific regions are void of the exact kind of kind of black fly that transmits the larva?

Here is a pic

http://www.michigan.gov/images/bearworm_19985_7.jpg

[CanuckShooter]

haven't run into to many wormy salmon.

How about herring and cod? When they die and wash up on shore do they get eaten....ever see the worms coming out of the fish right thru the scales???? yum

[BradB]

The grizz feeding on the sockeye where I was this fall were passing tapeworms all the time. We see them floating down river and wrapped around snags. Some were ridiculously long.

[Jehiah]

the "worms" guys are talking about in bears are called trichinosis and CAN be harmful to humans. Trichinosis is VERY common in pork, cougar, and bear as they all consume meat/carion which puts them at risk of aquiring the worm. The good news is that they are destroyed when we cook the meat - cook you bear like you cook your pork and you will be fine.
chicken carries salmonella and bear carries trichinosis - we cook meat for a reason.

insomuch I believe I also answered the question to whether we need to pack "wormy" bear meat out of the bush (not that youd be able to tell) - yes as it is fully edible in any prepared dish (just stay away from the bear sushi ;)

[srupp]

hmmm must be a coastal thing never seen worms ever in my interior bears..ever,....cant believe Im THAT lucky???

now coastal bears are different , grizzlies is all the coastal experince I have..

If I found worms...to me thats not edible...??? only have to pack out "edible portions" but again never seen these in interior bears, and trichinosis is no playing matter froze and cooked well..

steven

[Phreddy]

Wanted to take a lady our once but couldn't decide where to take her. Discovered she had worms so we went fishing.

[mrak]

6weeks in the frezzer kills the worm as the meat is boned out and not large chunks. Spring bear into fall sausage mix with the other game meat.

[tonywtc]

the "worms" guys are talking about in bears are called trichinosis and CAN be harmful to humans. Trichinosis is VERY common in pork, cougar, and bear as they all consume meat/carion which puts them at risk of aquiring the worm. The good news is that they are destroyed when we cook the meat - cook you bear like you cook your pork and you will be fine.
chicken carries salmonella and bear carries trichinosis - we cook meat for a reason.

insomuch I believe I also answered the question to whether we need to pack "wormy" bear meat out of the bush (not that youd be able to tell) - yes as it is fully edible in any prepared dish (just stay away from the bear sushi ;)

This is true, and when you get trichinosis you cant get rid of it, you can treat the symptoms much like an std but you can never fully get rid of it.

When a person eats meat from an infected animal, Trichinella cysts break open in the intestines and grow into adult roundworms.


The roundworms produce other worms that move through the gut wall and into the bloodstream. These organisms tend to invade muscle tissues, including the heart and diaphragm (the breathing muscle under the lungs). They can also affect the lungs and brain.


There are approximately 40 cases of trichinosis each year in the U.S.

This is what the 2010-2012 synopsis says about edible portions on page 3
Edible Portions: - with respect to big game, excluding grizzly bear, cougar, wolf, lynx, bobcat and wolverine, means the edible portions of the four quarters and the loins of the animal with respect to game birds means the edible portions of both breasts of the bird.

In short... no you don't have to take grizzly bear out of the bush just the hide. Black bear may be another story however, talk to your local conservation officer and ask him, make sure to get his name, and id number and time and date of conversation for your records in the case that there is ever a problem.

[jamfarm]

hmmm must be a coastal thing never seen worms ever in my interior bears..ever,....cant believe Im THAT lucky???

now coastal bears are different , grizzlies is all the coastal experince I have..

If I found worms...to me thats not edible...??? only have to pack out "edible portions" but again never seen these in interior bears, and trichinosis is no playing matter froze and cooked well..

steven

Yeah, I guess with the original post I was wondering where the worms are in a bear; I wondered if worms in a bear are all through and in the meat but it sounds from most guys that is not the case. I've never shot a bear but will be accompanying an friend on a bear hunt in AB in a week & a half so was just curious about the worm thing because there does seem to be a lot of hype.

[Marc]

I think that the majority of the bears who do have these worms passed on by black flies are from the Island. I shot a bear in Quesnel one fall and didn't see any worms in it. This was the only bear I've taken off the island so far and the only bear that I haven't seen these worms in.

Tric can lay dormant in the cyst form and it is in the meat and can't really be seen with the naked eye.

Cook it well and don't worry about it.