“One year I spent 700 hours in tree stands watching bears,” said biologist Wade Noland, one of America’s great adventurers. He slept in remote cabins on Kodiak Island, canoed across Canada, and was equally at home in Botswana. He once hunted a rare, blonde black bear that raced up the tree he hunted from and nearly engaged in hand-to- paw combat.
Black is Black
Most bears east of the Mississippi River are coal-colored, and Nolan believes that’s because of their dense environment. Bear habitat in the East is usually thick, with minimal sunlight, and the black color helps camouflage and does not absorb excessive heat. This is true for much of Eastern Canada as well.
Open Country and Heat
“Color phase bears are grouped into four major categories,” says Nolan. Coal black is the most common. Brown and chocolate bruins, sometimes even dark chocolate coat colors, can be mixed with total black bears as one travels west. Brown and Coco bears are common in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and south to the American plains states. In some cases, 25% of the bears are color phase. Some bears in the American West are cinemon colored, a condition that Nolan believes helps them deal with heat. The blond phase is the least common, and a fortunate hunter encounters one.
How to Score a Color Phase Bear
Scouting for a color-phase bear is difficult because their tracks and scat are identical to black coated animals. A hunter may find a bit of fur near a bait that would indicate a color phase, especially in spring when bears begin to rub their thick winter coats. Trail cameras are the best way to identify a bait or location of a phase bear and allow for sex and size assessment. Hunting with dogs can also be practical, where legal, since a hunter can pass on a bear once dogs have treed it.
Van Hale’s White Mountain Apache Lease
Van Hale has been a big game outfitter in the Southwest for many years. I turned a group of friends onto his unique concession, and their group went five-for-five on bears, with four being beautiful red or cinnamon-colored. “He has exclusive rights to 2.1 million acres, and there were only five hunters,” reported my friend.” We could hunt with a bow or rifle over nearly 100 baits and use dogs. It was a terrific hunt.” To reach his website, click here.