Quote Originally Posted by Nandy View Post
Im sure it is gone, long gone.....
There's a good chance it's still around Nandy, especially if it's a sow. It's hard to tell from the pics, but that appears to be a really nice bear! The males will be larger, but at this time of year, the females will be bulking up for the winter. The females will generally stay in one area. The males may tend to roam a bit (up to 20-30 miles), but once they have a territory established, they'll tend to hang around the same area. I know deer season is the focus now, so you probably don't want to be wandering around in the woods, but I LOVED hunting for bear sign. Scat, ripped up logs, clawed trees, etc. Look around for trees with darkened areas (from body oils) and/or hair a couple feet above the base of the tree. They'll rub against trees to leave hair (which holds their scent for weeks) to mark their territory as a warning to others, or attract mates. I hunted bear (Canada) for close to 20 years and loved it, but looking for bear sign was always just as exciting for me!