Despite the fact that I was in one of the most predator-rich realms of public land in the Lower 48, I hadn’t spotted a bear in two days of hunting over a baited barrel. So I decided to see if I could attract any unseen bears by appealing to their sense of hearing rather than their taste buds.
I blew a series of raspy, ragged distress calls on my Circe predator call, then I glassed the avalanche chutes that rose up and away from my spot in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness of remote northern Idaho. I thought I caught a glimpse of movement in some greening wild currant bushes, so I blew the call once again. This time I definitely saw a bear, a glossy black specimen, and as I blew the call it came downhill toward my location. When I stopped calling, the bear stopped and looked behind itself. When I called, the