This is sad to see but necessary.
The largest grizzly bear ever taken by a hunter has been entered into hunting club Boone and Crockett records and it’s the second largest ever found.
The bruin was bagged last year near Fairbanks, Alaska.
It scores 27-6/16 and missed the World’s Record mark by 7/16 of an inch.
That kill lands the grizzly a spot as the second-largest grizzly ever recorded.
The reigning World’s Record is a skull found in Alaska in 1976. Bears are scored based on skull length and width measurements. The club’s statement says:
Grizzlies are symbols of our willingness to accommodate large predators and wilderness.
Hunter Larry Fitzgerald of Fairbanks found his trophy boar in a location that seems counterintuitive.
Richard Hale, chair of the Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game committee said the area is being managed for an overpopulation of grizzlies.
One would think that a relatively accessible area, with liberal bear hunting regulations to keep populations in line with available habitat and food, would be the last place to find one of the largest grizzly bears on record.”
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game liberalized hunting regulations to help balance and control bear predation on moose, according to the club.
Baiting is allowed to hunt grizzlies. Fitzgerald stalked his trophy, said Hale.
h/t: Boone and Crockett Trophy Watch
Photo credit: Boone and Crockett Club Facebook