Minnesota has one really old black bear

A 36-year-old bruin has survived to be possibly the oldest wild black bear on record, reports Doug Smith for The Star-Tribune in Minneapolis. She was first caught and outfitted with a radio collar in 1981, when she was 7. Since then, Bear No. 56 has survived 29 hunting seasons and avoided cars on highways and clashes with rural residents. (Photo by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

The average age of a bear killed by a hunter in Minnesota is 3.7 years. About 80 percent of No. 56's 26 cubs died by age 6. And the oldest bear ever killed by a hunter in the state was 31, based on 35 years of data using teeth to determine the age of those killed by hunters.

"Very few bears live past 25," said Dave Garshelis, a Minnesota DNR bear research scientist. "This is really old for a wild bear. She has found a way to beat the odds." Said Garshelis: "We hope she dies naturally, which would make a nice ending to the story." (Read more)