Sex ID of bears. Please post bear pictures!

[BiG Boar]

Hey Guys,

After 54 days of hunting grizzly (4 tags), and still not taking one home for myself, I have decided to put this thread into action to help new grizzly hunters sharpen their skills of bear identification. I feel a thread like this would be very valuable to new hunters, and even guys who have had a few tags, to refresh their skills on identifying the sex of the bear.

I am of the opinion that grizzly hunting is on the brink of closure in BC with all the pressure that is against the "Trophy Hunt". With that in mind, we hunters need to do everything we can, to try and select a mature male bear. Sure legal is legal, but we really need to do our best to select a male bear. Here are some reasons for why you should be selecting a male:

Taken from here: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=bearbaiting.bearchoice



Male bears are larger than females and provide more meat.
Male bears provide a larger pelt for trophy value.
Bear trophies are "scored" by skull size, and male bears have larger skulls.
Adult male bears kill cubs and other smaller bears.
Harvesting male bears has the least impact on populations because one male can mate with several females.
Female black bear reproductive potential (numbers of young per lifetime) is relatively low compared to many mammals, including most ungulates, other carnivores, and small game animals.
Harvesting too many females reduces population growth. This in turn can result in fewer bear hunting opportunities in the future.

Sex Determination:Another skill learned by experienced bear hunters is the ability to determine the sex of the bear they are observing. Not all methods are foolproof, but time in the field and experience can improve your abilities. With patience or luck you may observe the bear urinating. A female bear may be in a squatting position and will urinate towards the rear while a male bear will urinate forward. Young male bears may also squat to urinate. Large males may urinate while stretching or walking. The penis sheath and testicles on male bears may be observed, especially if you have good optics. In spring, the female bears may be lactating so visible mammaries would be a useful indicator. Early summer is mating season for bears. With the females, the vulva may be visible when she is "in heat." With the bear in a standing posture, you may have a better chance to determine whether it’s a male or female.

Small Bears:


Big ears when compared to the size of head
Lanky appearance with long looking legs
Head appears large in relationship to the body
Head will have an elongated, triangular appearance--narrow or pointy look
Neck will have a long, thin appearance
Hair will be longer and fluffy (applies to females as well)

Large Bears:


Blocky head
Thick muzzle
Ears appear smaller compared to size of head
Ears will be set wide apart on the head
Neck appears thicker and shorter in relationship to the body
Legs, rump, and mid-section appear more bulky




Below is a bear identification test. It won't help with sex ID, but will help with comparing blacks to grizzlies.

http://fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/bearID/ (http://fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/bearID/)

Please HELP NEW HUNTERS by posting up a few pictures of grizzlies (label bear with a number, so we're talking about the same bear) to help newbies guess the sex, and maturity. Once we have a lot of pictures, I will put together a finished thread of all the animals, and their sex, as agreed on by several bear experts or biologists.

BEAR #1

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/5b4cf278.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/f2471e9b.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/03ce1fe6.jpg

click below pic for a video of this bear.


http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/th_f66d990e.jpg (http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/f66d990e.mp4)

[BiG Boar]

Link to video of BEAR #1
http://s300.beta.photobucket.com/user/bigbore14/media/f66d990e.mp4.html

[BiG Boar]

BEAR #2

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/720790dd.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/1a6f42b0.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/9e4d72d6.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/67a7a9cc.jpg

[BiG Boar]

BEAR #3

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/09702e73.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/ed86e8f6.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/bf8f0de3.jpg

[BiG Boar]

BEAR #4

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2672.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2682.jpg

[BiG Boar]

BEAR #5

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_7350.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2563-1.jpg

[BiG Boar]

#6
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2496.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2499.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2514.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2515.jpg

[BiG Boar]

#7

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/721BE353-B464-42D6-8A01-EECA646530D6-1313-000000C09DA6D8A1_zps39454912.jpg

[Dirty]

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=bearbaiting.bearchoice

That is off the BC LEH website and might be of help.

[BiG Boar]

Let the guessing begin! Which bear number, is which sex?

[Fella]

Bear 4 is a male?

[Fred1]

Sweet boots!!

[snareman1234]

1: M
2: F


My guess for 1 and 2

[BiG Boar]

Any other people with grizzly pics? Live better than dead. But I need more for a male VS female thread.

[Rackmastr]

My guesses:

1 - Boar
2- Sow
3 - Sow
4- Boar
5- Sow
6- Lanky younger boar?
7 - Sow

[BCbillies]

1. Boar
2. Sow
3. Sow
4. Boar
5. Sow (old)
6. Sow
7. Sow

[BCKyle]

Full on bear hunting rookie here, hoping not to get too roasted! :mrgreen:

Wrote these down before switching to this page 'cause I didn't want to see other responses first, so here are my first straight up thoughts:

1, Boar, mature
2, sow (short neck and kind of a fluffy look? or maybe a young boar...)
3, 2-3 yr old ...boar? oh god...
4, boar, a beast!
5, sow, fairly young
6, sow, young
7, sow, young

So now that I've seen some other responses I'm thinking I probably &*$#ed a few up but hey I need this practice big time with my fingers crossed for a good spring bear meat hunt soon. Thanks for the thread Big Boar and contributors! I'm looking forward to some detailed descriptions of which are which and why.

Ok now rip the a$$ out of my answers. :twisted:

[r106]

4&5 - boar
7 - sow

[BiG Boar]

will post results in the morning to allow a few more to guess. I know all of them for sure except one of them.

Please post your grizzly pics to contribute, even if you don't know the sex for sure (I will send them for expert analysis). Seeing lots of bears is the best thing you can do to try to get really good at knowing the difference between sexes, and mature vs immature.

[limit time]

I need better pics of the two does to be sure!

[Skull Hunter]

I'll take a stab...
1. Boar
2. Young Boar (this looks similar to the boar I shot, which we completely misjudged)
3. Sow
4. Boar
5. Boar
6. Young Sow (this one seemed especially difficult)
7. Sow

Here are a few more for people, not all grizzly but useful none the less. (I only know the sex on one of these for certain)

Bear #8
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll254/Zubris21/be1f1bd9-3c42-4904-a53c-a8424e4ec86c.jpg

Bear #9
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll254/Zubris21/IMG_3371-1.jpg

Bear #10
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll254/Zubris21/IMG_3380.jpg

[BCKyle]

8. boar
9. sow (just look at the little nipper!)
10. sow

thanks for the extra pics... I have a feeling my batting avg. is going to be poor.

[Rackmastr]

8 - Boar
9 - Young boar
10 - Sow

[BiG Boar]

Here are the actual Answers to the first 7:

1:Boar (watched him for an evening, hulking shoulders, big blocky nose, dark body, watch the shoulder swagger in the video)
2:Sow (fluffy looking, and pointed round face, watched this sow get dogged by a boar, measured her track in the snow and it was 5 inches, as filled out and belly dragging as this bear is, if it were a male, it would have a front track bigger than 5 inches across. Spring time)
3:not sure on this one, its a road side bear I didn't watch for long, but I would say Boar because it has a boars muzzle, and has a little mass to its shoulders. Its head does have that rounder look, but so does bear number 5, which is a boar.)
4:Boar (shot it and flipped it over)
5:Boar (shot it and flipped it over)
6:Sow (had cubs with her)
7:Sow (had cubs with her)


My guesses for 8-10

8.Sow
9.Young boar
10.Sow

keep the pictures coming. Edit out cubs or email the pics to me and I can edit them out, or post them for you, if you don't know how. alexanderdavidmarsh@hotmail.com

[HarryToolips]

Don't male bears on average have bigger craniums therefore bigger gap between their ears???

[Bpower]

Bear balls...:mrgreen:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj306/Painter75/Bear%20hunt%20June%202011/BearhuntJun_2011009.jpg

[warnniklz]

Bear #10
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/28084_4606809141389_1372306455_n.jpg

Bear #11
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262784_4606809821406_1335491563_n.jpg

Bear #12
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/537536_10151749035355387_454072943_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/385630_10151749035995387_974056466_n.jpg

[warnniklz]

bear #13
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/36608_10152571644625387_222714869_n.jpg

[BiG Boar]

My guesses

10. Sow
11. Sow
12. Possible boar, bigger shoulder
13. Sow

[warnniklz]

My guesses

10. Sow
11. Sow
12. Possible boar, bigger shoulder
13. Sow

Spot on... here's 13 again
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/428537_10151755263545387_1441859132_n.jpg

12 again
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/538149_10151749034765387_1605217158_n.jpg
He was big... but it was early in the season... so he got to walk

[BiG Boar]

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/bbear_zps463c66fe.jpg

Someone asked me to post this trail cam picture. Anyone see any clue or clues as to what sex this bear might be? The date and time on the cam are right. One observation is that the bear is alone, and if it had cubs, they would have showed up on the trail cam, as there was more than one picture. That being said they give birth in February, so it could be a pregnant sow.

Some may ask why its not in hibernation yet, as they usually hibernate before grizzlies, and in october/early november. However black bears may not hibernate depending on the severity of the winter.

One clue is that a mature boar weighs 30% roughly more than a sow. The bear looks big and full and ready for winter, and this happens with both sexes.

Based on this tiny bit of thought, I would say its a boar.

[BiG Boar]

bear #15
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/sow1_zpsd01d1f64.jpg

bear #16
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/sow4_zpsf6d5b5e2.jpg

bear #17
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/sow2_zpsebb80002.jpg

bear #18
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/sow3_zps21be406c.jpg

[180grainer]

The only thing I could ID with any certainty were the two ladies in the back of the pickup and the one kneeling in the other picture.

[proguide66]

#1 is the only 'bang flop' on here...black rats shouldnt be called bears , lolol:razz:

[Rodd]

Bear 15 = Old Sow
Bear 16 = Young Boar
Bear 17 = Big Boar (Shooter)
Bear 18 = Young Sow

Based on the pic's these are my guesses...

[Tuffcity]

#19

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/Tuffcity/Yukon%202009/grizzly2.jpg

RC

[warnniklz]

19 looks like a sow to me

[BiG Boar]

thanks for #19. I'd go sow on that one too.

Any more people with guesses on 15-18 before I post up the results?

This is a very good way of learning what you don't know.

[underwood]

15: Sow
16: Sow ?
17: Bore
18: Sow
19: Sow

[snareman1234]

15: Boar
16:Sow
17:Boar
18:Sow

[Rackmastr]

Man those last ones are tough....

15- Boar
16- Young boar
17 - Boar
18 - Sow

[Tuffcity]

#19 is a sow. She was with a "cub" when I took the picture. This is the two together.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/Tuffcity/Yukon%202009/sowcubgrizzly.jpg

RC

[BiG Boar]

#15
#16
#17
#18

ALL SOWS!!! Do not shoot!

[warnniklz]

#15
#16
#17
#18

ALL SOWS!!! Do not shoot!

17 was a tricky one.

[TESKELLY]

BEAR #5

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_7350.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_2563-1.jpg

liking the leopard print boots in picture 2

[Rackmastr]

#15
#16
#17
#18

ALL SOWS!!! Do not shoot!

Interesting! I saw the dished face and was curious, but man those ones were tough for me!

I seem to do better watching bear 'swagger' and movement when determining sex, and have a harder time with a grizz face than a black bear face it seems. Still a great thread!

[BCKyle]

In all honesty I probably would have blasted #17 and #19. This thread is very helpful! Another round of black bears maybe?

[BiG Boar]

#20
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/boar1_zpse3d21489.jpg


#21
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/boar5_zpsba413839.jpg

#22
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/boar3_zps2f1adae2.jpg

#23
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/boar4_zps3dc63f4e.jpg

#24
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/boar2_zps04fc308b.jpg


Start your guessing.

[BCKyle]

20 - young boar?
21 - sow
22 - sow
23 - boar
24 - sow

... my quick impressions.

[adriaticum]

The best way to ID bears is to take your pants off.
If it runs away, it's a female.
If it wants to fight you, it's a male.
;)

[BiG Boar]

The best way to ID bears is to take your pants off.
If it runs away, it's a female.
If it wants to fight you, it's a male.
;)

I wouldn't want to be your hunting partner.

[warnniklz]

The best way to ID bears is to take your pants off.
If it runs away, it's a female.
If it wants to fight you, it's a male.
;)

do you have to drop your pants all the way? or can you just pull out your junk?

[adriaticum]

do you have to drop your pants all the way? or can you just pull out your junk?


Lol, depends on visibility.

[warnniklz]

Lol, depends on visibility.

I guess I'll drop the drawers to the ankles... just to be safe

[proguide66]

Just figuring out how to put old tapes onto a computer. Here's a few quick clips slapped together , check out the booner at the end , you can see his pecker swinging.

http://youtu.be/Ri5cJICiQHw

[xfactor]

Great thread Dave, anyway to keep this going? i don't have any bear pics, but sure am enjoying the guessing/learning!

planning a bear hunt…need to get learned up on this stuff:)


more pics please from anyone who has them, and knows for certain the sex of the bear.

cheers!!

[ru rancher]

i got a couple most are on my home computer though so these will have to do
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/rurancher_515/Ericsfirstbear_zpsd4d6ba84.jpg (http://s828.photobucket.com/user/rurancher_515/media/Ericsfirstbear_zpsd4d6ba84.jpg.html)
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/rurancher_515/Dallasbear_zpsf487b6a0.jpg (http://s828.photobucket.com/user/rurancher_515/media/Dallasbear_zpsf487b6a0.jpg.html)
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/rurancher_515/Bigoldbear_zps7610d0d5.jpg (http://s828.photobucket.com/user/rurancher_515/media/Bigoldbear_zps7610d0d5.jpg.html)
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/rurancher_515/IMG_2007_zps57994a92.jpg (http://s828.photobucket.com/user/rurancher_515/media/IMG_2007_zps57994a92.jpg.html)
first one is a boar 19 and a half skull and 7 feet
second one is a boar 19 and a half skull and 6 foot 8
third one is a boar 20 inch skull and 7 foot 5
fourth one is a boar 18 3/4 inch skull and 6 foot 5 ( only shot it cause it had killed one of our calves)
wish i had some alive pictures but sadly not on this computer but the heads are a good way to tell hope this helps

[paw325]

This one appears to have the mass and scarring of a mature boar
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/peter338/DSCN1334.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/peter338/media/DSCN1334.jpg.html)

Aaaaaand the crucial final check.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/peter338/DSCN1337.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/peter338/media/DSCN1337.jpg.html)

[snareman1234]

I hear a lot of talk about the relative neck length between boars and sows. Any thoughts on this?

[BearSupreme]

So what were #20-#24?!
Im guessing:
#20: sow
#21: sow
#22: boar
#23: boar
#24: boar

[Sofa King]

http://cdn.themetapicture.com/media/funny-bears-road-Canadian-street-gangs.jpg (http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=hSp9iPQGznrD3M&tbnid=RRyPr-i4jx6sFM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthemetapicture.com%2Fcanadian-street-gangs%2F&ei=tTMEU-fhJc-FogTSo4HwBg&bvm=bv.61535280,d.cGU&psig=AFQjCNHuBA2PhUTHzQuNCBvXUOIsL0JXIA&ust=1392870578038166)
I'm guessing a sow and three cubs.
no idea on the cubs though.

[Sofa King]

question.
would all sows not have cubs in the spring?
do some maybe not get bred?

[BearSupreme]

Young sows wouldnt have cubs with them, the only sow ive ever shot was a young bear when i was an in experienced hunter. She was in a big slash and definitely no cubs around.

[Oz Bob]

Interesting thread. Especially for an Aussie booked on a grizz hunt this year. The best reference material I've found for determining the sex of brown bears is the video "take a closer look" put out by the Yukon fish and game department. I've watched the full length version over and over again and I reckon I'm slowly but surely getting the hang of it. Well let's say I'm now getting it right at least 50 percent of the time.

I've enjoyed this thread. But it is hard picking the sex of a brown bear with just one or two photos to go on. But at least I can pick the difference between and brown and black bear.

anyway hopefully I'll see my first bears, ever, in September and with any luck I'll be able to tell the difference from a trophy grizz and a teddy bear.

Please keep on posting the brown bear pics I need plenty of practice.

thanks

bob