early bird and all that. .

Still cool though.

that appears more like a black/brown bear.

But take heart. I've been to Yellowstone a couple of times and never saw a bear at all.

I'll concede that I'm no expert.

and the front claws, Black bear have a smoother "line" from the nose to the top of the head and Griz have a "break" near the eyes. Hard to tell from the photo and I would trust your son's judgement as well because seeing with your own eyes is the best bet. We get quite a few around here in Island Park, Idaho I see them once in a while fishing the Snake. Mostly they run when they see you. "Mostly" Well I'm off to pick morels. Thanks for all the neat pictures and stuff Scuba.

Thanks for the kind words.

Yummy!

My brother in law and I split about 35, They are a bit more sparse then on the coast or back in Michigan, It might be the very low humidity here in the high desert, I always thought they would be around the high pine forest but never had a chance to look till last year so we are still scoping out the best places to pick as well as the right time of year.

Enjoy!

and an all around heavier frame. They look "big boned" compared to a black bear.

I've seen hundreds of both up close (sometimes too close). Nice photo though.

I read the tutorial on how to tell the difference between grizzlies and black bears, and learned a lot. The issue for hunters in Montana is very important as it is VERY illegal to kill a grizzly (or a black or grizzly bear with cubs).

I live in the Colorado Rockies and have had several encounters with black bears (no grizzlies here), and this tutorial was quite interesting. Just for grins I even took the tutorial that hunters have to pass to show that they can tell the difference between black bears and grizzlies. I passed!

I would ask your son to look at his pic again. I'm sure he's more skilled than I in identification, but after reading that tutorial and looking at the ears and facial structure, and even the claws, I think that may be a black bear after all. Then again, if he got a good look at the tell-tale "hump" that certainly argues for grizzly. I think the question is academic as he wasn't "hunting," and seeing ANY bear in the wild is kind of cool, but I'd be curious what he says.

Thanks for the link.

I live just outside Yellowstone, even from that photo, that looks like a grizz. If it ever stops raining I may even get out into the back country and see some bears.

Long Roman nose = black bear. Dish faced = grizzly. That is as classic black bear face as you will ever see. Also has big ears for his head and his hind looks bigger than his shoulders

A sow and her cub denned under my friends deck. She didn't know until spring that they were there.coming and going past grizzlies. I've seen them from golden to dark brown wandering my area. Nice picture.

Hunted and worked around both and took several classes on I'd. I have seen many of each species. That bears face is long and curved, classic black bear face. Grizzly face is always dish faced. Coat color is awful dark for a grizzly but that is not 100%.

That bear looks nothing like a grizzly.

When you travel to Yellowstone, you have get up before sunrise, get to your viewing spot and hang out. Worry about breakfast later.

Thanks for sharing.

That was last week. If I were prone to drawing conclusions, I would guess the bear did shit in the woods. Then I would conclude, all bears shit in the woods.

BUT: How do I know someone didn't plant the turd I found?

Black bears come in a range of colors.

I can tell by his/her flat profile/longer nose. Grizzly bears have a dished profile and are also much, much bigger. Not sure of the distance from which this picture was taken but it seems quite close to me. I would never get that close to a grizzly, no way not ever.

A black bear will hunt and eat you. I'm going to Russian River today to my family camp site. Last year I saw a black bear and a wolf on the drive. Here's to the drive this time.

Rec

My friend's son-in-law is an official at Yellowstone. He witnessed a Grizzly take down a bison. Then, dig a hole with is paw, pick up the dead bison with one paw and put it in the hole. The hole was then covered.

Several days later, the bear dug up the hole, removed the bison and had lunch and supper.

last Sunday and as we're driving along in my 'shroom hunting golf cart from hell there in the middle of the road was about 7 or 8 piles of bear scat. I never should have said anything about it because after we got back home and our grand daughter was telling her mom about the woods she said she was really having fun until papa said something about bears. LOL

I won't make that mistake again thats for sure.

black bear, fine looking specimen.

I want to give him a hug.

Black bear.

Well there are many trains of thought.

Cool pic btw.

In Montana, when I hiked there some years ago, there was sage advice posted at the trail head.

The sign warned that both Black Bears and Grizzlies were in the area and advised that the way to safeguard from attack was to wear small bells on your clothing, to alert the bears you were nearby, and to carry pepper spray to use if the bears got too close.

The sign said the best way to determine if there were bears nearby was to look for fresh scat along the trails. Black Bear scat, it said, has small berries and bits of fur mixed in, all part of the bear's diet. Grizzly scat was easier to identify as it's larger, smells like pepper spray, and has little bells sprinkled throughout.