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1. Here on the border with Canada in NW Montana, black bears are now usually healthy, and seem to be more numerous than ever. The blackie put in the freezer yesterday was unbelievable fat for a spring bear. About 18 years of age, 7+ feet, maybe 350lbs, the fat content is impressive, and the muscle on the forearms were massive. It has been well fed over many years. We figure it might be stealing the calves the local wolf pack takes. In this area, the blackies are now too numerous and unusually fat. Why? Elk and moose population is way down, deer are doing good, wolves are numerous and big, and the black bears are too many and big. Grizzlies has also become problematic in town. In the last 3 years, USFS has been forced to capture them several times and post warning signs on the trail heads in town. There has been one underpublized attack during this time. Mountain lions have also been hanging out in the town under porches etc.

   I would not rely on the ‘politically correct’ to accurately report. Bears are an excellent source of storage stable and heat stable cooking fat, and is good for just about anything you could use fat for. To jar it up, remove as much fat as possible. Slow cook it in a heavy salt brine in either a pressure cooker, all day on the wood stove if possible, or just boil it in a pot for about an hour. This method is the least expensive way to remove the gamey taste from meat. Pour off the cook water, then hot pack into jars. I use lots of salt when jarring the fatty meat to hopefully increase the shelf life and storage life after the jar is opened. A jar of Bear fat should be good on the shelf for more than a year unrefrigerated, even over a summer. Will try canning this fat this year, and test it’s longevity in that form. Learn from YouTube on how to render fat.

   The rapid increase in the bear population could be a good thing given that fats and oils in general might become be hard to get otherwise. Most folks do not store enough. Raising hogs is another way to provide fat. Black bear fat and meat already brings a high price on the market. $7 to 15.00 per ounce for the fat… $14/lb for stew meat, and $95.00/lbs for the best bear steaks. Just be very careful when messing with any bear. And bring enough rifle.

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