How fast do bears grow?

[outdoor ran]

I just received my age on the bear tooth I sent in last fall from the DNR. I'm having a hard time believing bears can grow that fast. The old man and I both shot bears(boars) in the same area last fall with our bows. On certified scales his dressed out at 185 and mine was 280 dressed out. His was aged at 1 year old and mine was 2 years old. I suppose they would be 1 1/2 and 2 1/2. Do you think theres been a mix up or is this a normal weight for bears at this age? I thought I shot a decent bear till I found out today it was just a baby, lol.

[eyesontonka]

Bears dont grow that fast..150 lbs is average bear or a common bear in mn..280lb bear is a nice 1 so who ever said it was a baby...well call them for the next drag then ask ummm how big the bear was...it's not the size...it's being outdoors..the adventure..the company..time alone..time well spent

[CMWINTER]

A few years ago I shot a bear that went right around #300 and the dnr said it was 17 1/2 years old. So a #280 2 1/2 year old bear I would say is big for it's age.

[The Grebe]

Depends on who is telling the story!

[Swamp Scooter]

My bear last fall was 195# sow 2 1/2 years old. Dressed 161#. I can see where a boar born early could get that big. Maybe it got in to the Tetrecycline bait from the DNR and so had no worms or parasites and got a great food source for rate of gain. you know their favorite Spring food is Fawn!!

[kevfish]

I shot a 179 lb field dressed sow last fall. The DNR sent a post card saying it was 14.5 years old. I figured it had to be a mistake because I would think that a bear that old would be alot bigger. I called the dnr to see if it was just a mistake- They said it was accurate. Is this possible?

[wh1stler]

I guess I don't understand why you would expect bears to uniformly get bigger as they get older.

My grandpa is 82 years old. Is he larger than my dad who is 57? Is my dad larger than me at 26? No, I daresay I am the biggest of the three with gramps being the smallest.

Bears are mammals too. Unlike fish or trees that continue to grow until death, wild mammals stop at some point. Their weight may fluctuate from month to month but you wouldn't expect an adult mammal to add 200 or 300 pounds of muscle, fat and skeleton after maturity.

Whistler

[This message has been edited by wh1stler (edited 07-07-2004).]

[wyldewal]

I just got my first bear permit this year, but I thought cubs stay with there mothers until they are 2 years old. I don't know it's just somethng I heard a while back.
Good hunting

[eyesontonka]

wylde

Not always..lots of things happen..

[This message has been edited by eyesontonka (edited 07-09-2004).]

[bass-o-matic]

I shot a boar in MN a couple of years ago that weighed 177lbs. field dressed and was aged at 3 years old.

[eyesontonka]

basso

Now that sounds about right to me..i have taken a few bears..seen plenty...i have a hard time believing 1 year old at 180lbs field dressed..

[This message has been edited by eyesontonka (edited 07-12-2004).]