Black Bear Hunting

The hiring of Correy Rossi seems to be coming under fire again as a controversial move. When Rossi applied for the position as assistant commissioner of "abundance management," a newly created position at Alaska's Fish and Game, he used the Governor at the time, Sarah Palin's parents as his number one references. He was hired in January of 2009, for a position that netted over $100,000 a year. Rossi was also a big game guide, and enthusiastic hunter. There were questions about his education and whether he met the criteria needed for the job, yet he was hired and would work in that position for over two years.

A fence built on the Arizona and Mexico border in efforts to keep undocumented immigrants from entering Arizona, has had some unexpected consequences on wildlife. That fence has also affected the migrating black bears of Arizona, and may put stress on their population.

The black bears that are near the border have been recently studied and written about in the Biological Conservation. The bears in the area are not able to migrate into Mexico, and are faced with the threat of urban sprawl, highways and change of their migratory pattern.

A cable-man showed up at a New Jersey house to perform scheduled maintenance. When he arrived at the house, he found a black bear asleep in the basement. There were reports of sightings of the black bear in the neighborhood earlier in the day.

Bruce Headley was hoping to get two deer, during New Jersey's firearm deer hunt. Having the two deer in his freezer helps feed his family all year long. He was hunting on the back hill behind his property towards his shed, when he saw the black bear. The black bear seemed to fill the door to the shed with its mass.

Headley had seen this bear before, but not in the woods. This bear was spotted under Headley's apple tree stuffing himself with the apples. The bear did indeed have a hunger, as his estimated live weight was 829 lbs. After field dressing, the bear weighed in at 703 lbs. making Headley's the heaviest for the 2011 bear season.