Anybody ever find a bear den while deer hunting?

[Dewey]

On Tuesday I was hunting up by Eagle River still hunting deep in a swamp. When I came to the edge where the ground level came up a little from the swamp I almost stepped right into a bear den on the edge of the hillside.
There was steam coming out of the hole and when I looked in I could feel the heat coming out but could not see the bear. I shined my flashlight in the hole but it looked like it went in pretty far. The hole was probably 3 feet across so I am sure a fairly big bear could have been in the den. When I walked directly over the top I immediatly jumped back because there was a hollow sound underfoot and I did not want to break through into a bear den!!
Is it normal for a sow to share the same den with older cubs from a few years ago? Either there was a very large bear in there or I am thinking there was more than one bear in the den considering the amount of heat coming out of the entrance hole.
It was really cool to find this and only the third I have seen in my entire life.

[dan]

It would be normal for the sow bear to have this years cub's in there.

[Mike Foss]

They will also share it with yearlings, but will not share it if she is pregnant.
I have found a few dens in my time. The bears just look at you, nose flaring to get a good whiff of you.

[Dor]

No Thanks! You guys can keep an eye on momma bear for me. I will stick to raccoon dens in SE MN!

[Hodag Hunter]

I found a few and was shown more by others, one being in Navarino of all places. When going back the following year never had any luck finding another bear.

Either the bear died or are dens only used once?

[Dewey]

The weirdest one I ever heard of was a few years back way up in NW Wisconsin some guys found a bear hibernating in an eagle nest way up in a very large pine tree. I saw pictures of it and was very surprised that a bear could make it through the winter like that.

[Schultzy]

I've never saw an actual bear In a den but I've found what I perceived to be old bear dens In up rooted tree's. I've talked with loggers a good bit that log up In northern Minnesota and they tell me a bears den Isn't all that much at times. Lots of times they'll den right underneath a pine tree that has over hanging branches. I'm sure a sow wouldn't do that but I guess that's all that's needed for some of these boars.

[DropTyne]

My uncle found a den while hunting up by Lake Tomahawk. He was dumb enough to reach in the bears den and the bear inside swatted at his arm putting deep cuts in the sleeve of his blaze orange! I saw it first hand so I know it was legitimate, not too smart however.

[Dewey]

My uncle found a den while hunting up by Lake Tomahawk. He was dumb enough to reach in the bears den and the bear inside swatted at his arm putting deep cuts in the sleeve of his blaze orange! I saw it first hand so I know it was legitimate, not too smart however.

Lucky it was just the sleeve of his coat!
Good thing he didn't stick his head in to look for the bear!

[BackWoodsHunter]

we had a massive one den on our land last year just in a small depression in the ground. A few popples had cracked off over the hole and the bear did a little digging and then crawled in there right in plain sight. It's surprising when they den up right out in the open a predator of some sort wouldn't sneak up and take a nip at them?

Also last year while coyote hunting/trapping with my buddies in Price co. they showed me a denned up bear on their land. When you got really close you could hear what sounded like whimpering and sucking (nursing? is what we figured the baby cubs were doing)and the big bear had its rump facing the exit of the den. My buddies little brother said "watch this" which you know is a bad sign and picked up a sticked and poked that bear right in the a$$. The thing flinched and made a weird noise and I was gone. We were 20ft or so from the truck and I was back inside the cab in about 4 steps...pretty neat experience, never gonna poke one again though!

[Singing Bridge]

Cedar swamps are a preferred bedding area for black bear, and I have found a decent number of occupied/unoccupied dens in them. Many of them were located under the root system of big cedars and pine trees, under large stumps or blowdowns, etc. Its like hunting for morel mushrooms, a pretty cool find. The largest I have ever come across was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in a remote swamp. I made it to a long and narrow island with hip boots on, and was surprised at the lack of deer sign- the island was a direct route between two land masses. I started to get a funny feeling when I glanced at a giant, virgin white pine and walked toward it... at the base of the tree was a den entrance that was four feet across at the opening, and all I could see was a giant, dark den inside. If I was a deer I wouldn't go there either...

On the way out I came across a USFWS Ranger, armed, who's quadrunner had broken down many miles from his truck (broken axle). He was high tailing it out while being eaten alive by black flies, skeeters and the like. You'd have thought it was X-mas when I gave him a ride back to his truck with my quad.

[Swamp Donkey]

I have found several denned bears in my hunting career. This past weekend, I found tracks of a bear who was out wandering around and decided to follow them to see where he was heading. Actually caught up to him...he was about 200 pounds, not very big for a PA bear.