Want to Visit a Black Bear Den for the Ultimate Maine Experience?

What could be more Mainah' than visiting a bear den? Nothing, that's what.

According to News Center Maine, The Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is having a contest and the winner gets to visit a sleeping black bear in its den. Yikes.

As far as contests go, this one is pretty cool. The Bear Den Experience deadline is February 19th at noon so sign up now, here. You have to be at least 18 years old to enter.

If you win, you and a friend will have an amazing outdoor adventure. The winner will join a team of biologists to visit a radio-collared mama bear and her cubs in their den. You will then watch the biologists immobilize and collect data from the dozing bears. You will find answers to all of your black bear questions: Do bears snore? Does their den smell funky? Do they keep a stash of honey pots like Pooh?

Maine has a lot of black bears, over 35,000 and they are best enjoyed while they are sleeping. They can live to be about 30 years old out in the wild and they live mostly in Northern and Eastern Maine.

Check out the Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website and join the Bear Den Experience contest. This is a chance to win a day in the life experience of a game warden or biologist in the field and take part in an important part of wildlife management in Maine.