AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine’s bears had better enjoy those doughnuts while they can, because stuff is about to get real.
Bears have been munching on bait in the woods this summer since hunters started laying it on July 29. Bait is often sugary human food like doughnuts and pastries. Hunters are allowed to begin harvesting bears starting with Youth Bear Day on Aug. 26.
The full season starts on Aug. 28. The season for hunting over bait lasts until Sept. 23, while the general hunting season runs until Nov. 25.
Hunters in Maine typically harvest about 3,000 bears per year. State wildlife biologists say the use of bait is critical to keeping the bear population from growing too fast.
An effort to ban bear bait was the subject of a failed 2014 referendum.
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