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Perhaps someone with more experience than me could explain this . In maine where I mostly hunt the same area's Brownville . I have only come across this once in forty+ years . Typically when bears Den up there and has been verified a lot thru tracking collars usually it will always be in a slash pile or under blowdowns .I once came across a hole in the side of a drop off that had been dugout by critters upon further inspection it was laden with coyote tracks so I just assumed that it was a coyote den. A few years latter while Patty hunting I went back and to my surprise the hole had increased to twice the size fresh dirt being obvious and Bear tracks being on fresh dirt ,So naturally I assumed a bear had taken over the coyote den and was expanding it to suit its own needs.
Well the other day my son calls me tells me some guys pull into the gas station with a truck full of hounds Bear hunters with Plotts and Walkers They start talking about how last year during the Bear season they had lost two hounds because the bear went down a dugged out hole . Apparently 1 hound was killed out right the other had to be put down because of extensive injuries the other 2 were chained up and not hurt . They did manage to kill the bear 180 lb sow. While typically we hear of bears being treed or bayed have and yes getting into some unusual positions But climbing into a den type hole .Anybody else have an experience like that?

I have caught bears in holes before. Usually one or two a year and have seen more dogs hurt as a result of this situation than any other because of the limited escape options. Highest likelyhood of this scenario in my experience, is in the spring when the bear might still be living near the den. But have denned 'em up at all times of the year. Ive seen bear dens under tree rootwads, in boulder piles, under slash piles and in old dugouts, oh yea, also in abandoned mine shafts.

Were I hunt in Maine bears go in holes alot,some year's I have put more in hole's than I have treed.It is hard on the dog's and I'm often amazed that all the dog's don't get killed.I've had them killed and hurt pretty bad.

opening day last year my dogs ran a nice 400 pound bear into a hole. When we got there my 2 year old dog was in the hole with the bear, i have video of it, it was awesome.

We catch a few in holes but its generally late in the season when they are hanging around close to their dens.

Ive found their dens from 10,000ft to 5,000ft, in places you would never think a bear could even fit inl. We have had a 2 crawl into the crawl spaces of summer homes, pull down the insulation and make a bed and sleep for the winter! Pretty good suprise when the spring breakers show up hahaha

We have that alot here in nc! It'll get dogs killed or hurt pretty bad! Its really not all that uncommon! Last bear kill my skeety dog was on last year was in a hole so small you wouldn't plant a tater in! Don't ask me exactly what that means an old timer just said it bout the situation but i know it was a dug out hole!

No but I believe it.
I shot a spring bear who must have just recently emerged as he was able to run 200 yards or so and died with just his hind legs out of his den.
I've heard that they'll sleep in their den when its still cold even though they are no longer hibernating.
I too heard they often use slash piles and have spoke with a few loggers who've seen them come flying out when they do their winter and spring slash pile burns

This year alone I have caught bears in three holes. Bad news for the dogs. I had one dog killed and another injured this year in holes. I find that mostly they go in holes early in the spring or late in the fall however the one that killed the dog this year was in July, so go figure.....

Yep agree to all the above.
It's pretty Western when you catch in a hole,at least for a while till you get dogs caught.Makes for great pitures too.

We just had one in a hole yesterday,and earlier this year I had a dog killed when they caught one in a culvert.It does'nt happen often,but things sure get interesting when it happens.

I got a surprise one day while out snooping around at the end of February a few years ago. I was skiing along through some pretty thick bush when one of my dogs who was on my tail started digging away at a small mound in the snow. Soon enough her and another dog had their heads down in the hole and were locked on to something. My first thought was porcupine and I was scrambling to get the dogs under control when I got a whiff and realized it was a bear den. At this point I didn't know whether it was wiser to stay or run, as I didn't know what might come busting out of the den but was relieved when the dogs dragged only a small bear out of the hole and proceeded to tumble down the hill. It wasn't a fair fight as the young bear was only the size of one of the dogs and they would have likely killed him so after they stretched him out I managed to break them off and chained up without getting bit by dog or bear. We left him treed, a little the worse for wear but hopefully smart enough to locate another den.

Had a friend last season that wanted a bear and we ended up in this pipe.

so while they were gutting it I went back down and took the pics.

It gets the blood going. Mike

I have put a couple in holes, usually in late fall. But most of my problem is putting them in culverts, and it doesn't seem to matter what time of year it is. I usually put one or two in culverts every year, but this year I have already put four in culverts. and thats a good way to get a dog hurt or killed. I haven't had one killed but a couple of years ago a friend of mine was out hunting while I had to work one day and got a dog killed in a culvert and last year me and my dad put one in a culvert and when I got there his old female had got it pretty bad. the bear hooked her in the face and tore out her tear duct ripping down into her nasal passages, broke her upper jaw, tore out 4 teeth in it including her canine and tore out the lower canine on the same side. You could look at her sideways and see clear through her mouth because it had basically ripped that side of her face off. She made a full recovery but she was a walker with a spotted head and her spots no longer line up because when they sewed her face back together they had to fill in the missing pieces.

It's fairly common around here the closer you get to Fall. This year we cold trailed one to a den on Aug 1. Dogs were going good and then it sort of fizzled, then turned to bay barking. We got in there and pulled them back before it got to crazy. It wasn't real hot on that day, but I could seen why they'd go in there being so cool. We have real sandy soil here, so they seem to dig all over. In fact there is a den that the bear's sometime use that is just off a well used road. One had been in there on Sat night.

Interesting subject for sure ! I've put a lot of bears in holes and it can be a pretty intense deal ! Hard on the dogs and hard on the bear killers if we tell em that the dogs have done there part and now they have to go into the hole and finish it. O the stories there....LOL.

Most times that bears go back into the dens, or holes, is in the early spring and in the late fall. In the spring their just getting outta them, and they'll run back to them and in the late fall I believe they go in and outta them before they hibernate for the winter. Just my observations ...

Billy