Justin Lilley, a Carberry-based taxidermist and avid hunter, has secured a notable achievement in Manitoba's big game community.
Two black bear skulls from bears harvested by Lilley have qualified for entry into the prestigious Manitoba Big Game Association's record book this year, showcasing the impressive size of local bruins.
Lilley, who owns his own taxidermy and tanning shop, brought the two record-qualifying bear skulls to illustrate his success. The first, nicknamed "Tank" for its imposing size, was harvested near Onanole in 2022. Lilley described the moment it appeared.
"On trail camera we could see, he really was a tank. A few times he'd come into the bait and he would just run off and the ground would shake like it. He was a very Big Bear we estimated between 450 and 500 lbs. If not a little more than that. One evening, there were seven bears in front of me. And out of nowhere, all these bears just scattered in every direction you could think of, and then this guy walked out like he owned the place. That's when I harvested him."
The skull scored an impressive 20 inches and 12 sixteenths without its front teeth during its initial measurement. The second bear, harvested just this year near Carberry, proved even larger.
"This one was taken this year... I threw a bait out. Put a camera out and I think 5 hours later I had bears already on camera... we counted 26 different bears coming into my baits... I had four bears out and this really beautiful big red one was out and I was going to harvest that one. And out of nowhere he ran off... and this guy stepped out, right behind him. And he was just just as big, if not bigger. I decided, yeah, that's the bear I want. It's a beautiful bear. Came out to 350 lbs and the skull is 20 inches and 13 sixteenths with no teeth."
Lilley, who plans a full body mount of the second bear, confirmed both skulls, with teeth glued in, measure around 21 inches, easily surpassing the Manitoba Big Game Association's minimum of 19 inches for rifle-harvested black bears to enter the record book. He noted the second bear is the largest he's personally taken.
Beyond the bears: wild boar, ivory, and furs
Alongside the bear skulls, Lilley showcased a diverse collection of hunting artifacts, demonstrating Manitoba's rich wildlife. He presented the skull of a massive Manitoba wild boar he harvested.
"This is a real wild boar that I shot in the fall," he recalls, "These are some of the most elusive animals, but we do have them, and we have a lot of them; they absolutely destroy farmland. I set some cameras up, and saw that I had 5-6 big boars coming in. This guy weighed 460 lbs. I had to go home and get my wife as well as a winch just to get him into the truck. The meat on those is probably my favourite wild game meat, it's like the best beef and the best pork combined."
He also displayed unique items like elk ivory teeth: "100% ivory teeth, so that's the same ivory that you'd get from an elephant Tusk," along with wild turkey spurs and beards, explaining their significance for judging the bird's age and for mounting.
Lilley brought tanned furs, including a striking cross fox and a coyote, products of his tanning studio.
"We have a full tanning studio, so we're able to do any kind of hide and soften them, tan leathers for people to make moccasins, wall hangers or any kind of taxidermy work. It's really fun; I don't consider any of this work."
Exploding bear populations and a "problem bear"
Sitting down with a bear hunter like Lilley offers insights into local wildlife trends, especially given the increased bear sightings around Carberry and Portage la Prairie this year, such as this one just over a month ago.
Lilley shared his theory connecting this to reduced hunting pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent wildfires.
"A lot of people are mentioning the wildfires, which are absolutely horrible up north, stirring animals up. But I think there's another reason. In the province, we have a lot of bear outfitters," he says, "During COVID, we didn't have any Americans coming up to hunt for about two years. It's around 150 to 200 tags that are issued to an outfitter each year. If you add all these tags up, that's well over 100 tags per area. Over two years, that's potentially 200 to 400 extra bears that weren't harvested. Bears are very territorial animals. If you have that dense of a population, bears are going to have to start finding new territories. We're seeing so many bears that weren't hunted in those few years start migrating, so you add in the fires, and it's no surprise we're getting an influx of bears."
Lilley also recounted the unique experience of harvesting a previously managed "problem bear" near Brandon with his friend James.
"My buddy harvested it, and as we walked up to it, we noticed there was a yellow tag in the ear, it simply said to call this number. It turns out that it was a problem bear that was caught roaming in Brandon that spring. It was actually tranquillized and then taken out to Spruce Woods and let go. So, they verified that the meat was OK and tranq-free; otherwise, they might've given us another tag."
He notes that those "problem bears" operate on a three-strike rule, first getting a single yellow tag in one ear, a second yellow tag in the other ear if they return, and if they return again with two tags, the bear has to be put down because it's getting too used to human settlements.
Lilley continues his work at his taxidermy and tanning shop in Carberry, preserving Manitoba's impressive big game for hunters and enthusiasts.
His record book bears stand as a testament to the size and abundance of black bears in the region.