A few years ago, I got three sets of animal traps among some items I bought at an auction. They were rusty contraptions, and one looked as if it still had a tiny bit of fur in its tight jaws. Ugh.
These were slender elongated traps for small animals. So, when I was browsing the website of an upcoming auction recently, I came upon another trap for sale that looked to be a little larger but not by much. It was a vintage cast iron Hudson Bay 41 AX Kodiak bear trap with “overall wear from usage.” Meaning, I assumed, that it had been used.
On the day of the auction, I had completely forgotten about the trap as I did my walkthrough of the place. And then I came face to face with it, and it was humongous. This trap was so big that it looked like it could hold all four bear paws. It was way more than 3 feet wide (several like it on the web were said to be 44” wide).
For a minute, I felt sorry for the poor bear.
The bid sheet offered only sparse information about the trap, so I wanted to know more. I was especially interested because black bears had been sighted throughout South Jersey over the past few months. In fact, I learned that they are pretty common in the state.
The Jersey bears that were captured were not entrapped – law enforcement and wildlife officials wouldn’t be so heartless these day. They are tranquilized with darts: One bear that had found its way up a tree was subdued by tranquilizer and then released into a state forest.
That 300-pound bear was a baby compared to the bear for whom the auction trap was made. It was cast for a Kodiak bear, which I had never heard of. They are found exclusively on the Kodiak islands off southwestern Alaska, and are a subspecies of the grizzly.
They have enormous heads, strong jaws and teeth; thick, bulky bodies, and poor eyesight but acute hearing and a keen sense of smell, according to one website.
They are the largest bears in world: When standing, the males can measure 10 feet tall and when on all fours, they can reach to 5 feet. They can weigh up to 1,500 pounds. They are not necessarily meat-eaters, instead feasting on fish, grass, plants and berries. “… few Kodiak bears expend the time or effort necessary to chase and kill mammals,” according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.
In the 1800s, the bears were commercially hunted because their hides were so valuable. Today, they are still hunted, but the hunts are regulated and hunters must be licensed. If you’re not a resident of Alaska, you have to pay a professional guide from $10,000 to $20,000 to take you out hunting.
These hunters use guns, not traps. But wildlife biologist Willard A. Troyer in his 2005 book about brown bears tells of capturing Kodiaks for studying in the 1950s using ether and traps.
The traps at auction were made by Herter’s Inc. of Minnesota in the 1960s, and they are said to be very collectible. The company had been around since the late 19th century, and was well known as an outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor sports, and more. It got into trap-making with reproduction traps like the one sold at auction. It also made other types of traps and products.
Herter’s got out of the trap-making business in 1979, and its Kodiak bear traps seem to bring in the most bucks among collectors.
At auction, when the trap came up for bids, I made sure I was around because I wondered how much it would sell for and to whom.
“It’s a knockout,” the auctioneer said, noting that it had been made in the 1960s. “They could’ve used it in Jersey for the bear sightings.”
The bidding started and I watched as a man just in front of me went tit-for-tat past $200 and then $300 with another bidder. He was determined to stick with it, finally winning the trap for $450.
I approached him once the bidding was over. “I have to ask,” I said. “What are you going to do with it?”
“Sell it,” he said, his response reminding me that most folks at auctions are vendors who re-sell for a living.
“What do people do with it?” I asked, curious about his buyers’ motivation. He didn’t know and honestly, didn’t much care.
“I sold one last week for $500,” he offered. (What a surprise for me, until I later found several on the web that had sold from $1,175 to $1,500.)
“Some of us were looking at it (before the auction) and thought about opening it,” he said, but decided not to.
A smart decision.
George Herter sold fly tying equipment before he joined the Army. (WW2) when the war was over he started his business again. Sold mostly fishing equipment. Expanded to lots of other items and by the mid 1950’s. was putting out a large mail order catalog. He sold most everything for the outdoors. Sold his first traps in the mid 1860’s. Sold his first BEAR trap in 1971. I did extensive research on Herters traps. Talked to people that worked for Herters. Talked to one of Mr. Herters Sons. Talked to people in the machine shop where they were made. Talked to the Hudson Bay Archives people. (was wondering why Hudson Bay was removed from Herters items in 1978.