getasheep
10-15-2007, 07:06 AM
Grizzlies in Peril
As few as 500 are left in the province as contact with humans continues to prove fatal, despite a hunting moratorium
Darcy Henton
The Edmonton Journal
Monday, October 15, 2007
Most grizzlies killed since the hunting moratorium are shot in self-defense or when they're mistaken for black bears. Others are killed in road accidents, or are destroyed when they become a threat to public safety.
EDMONTON - The hunters were calling a bull elk, but that's not what showed up.
As they bugled their way up Cabin Ridge in the Crowsnest Pass, they heard what they thought was an elk coming up behind them.
They stopped and waited with guns ready, but instead of the big game they were expecting, a large female grizzly emerged from the thick timber, just 40 metres away.
It spotted them and charged.
One hunter opened fire. A bullet struck the bear in the neck, stopping it just 20 metres away. A second shot to the neck killed her.
No one knows for sure why the 180-kilogram bear attacked. She was healthy and had no cubs.
But her death at the hands of man is not uncommon.
She was one of 14 grizzlies killed in Alberta in 2006 and one of six shot in self-defence. In 2005, when hunting was allowed, 23 grizzlies died, including 10 that were legally shot by hunters.
Alberta suspended the annual spring grizzly hunt for three years in 2006 when initial numbers suggested the population was well below the 1,000 bears that had previously been estimated.
But grizzlies are still dying from what biologists term "human-caused mortality." They say that must be addressed soon if grizzlies are to survive.
"We've suspended the hunt, but hunting really isn't the issue," says mountain park carnivore expert Mike Gibeau.
Most grizzlies are shot in self-defence, or are mistaken for black bears. Some are killed legally by aboriginal hunters, others are shot by poachers or thrill-killers.
Some die in highway or railway accidents. Some are destroyed when they become nuisance bears and pose a threat to public safety by barging into people's yards to feast on everything from garbage and grain to apples and pet food.
The national parks aren't safe havens for grizzlies, either. More than 50 have died in Banff, Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper since 1990, mostly in highway and railway accidents or because they posed a threat.
Many Albertans believe that if Alberta loses its grizzlies, it loses the wilderness. The grizzly is seen as an icon of the wild, but more importantly, it is an umbrella species. If its space is protected, other plants and animals will have space to thrive as well.
Officially, grizzlies are considered "a species that may be at risk."
But the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee recommended in 2002 that grizzlies should be designated a "threatened" species under the provincial Wildlife Act. That was based on estimates that there were only 1,000 grizzly bears left in Alberta.
The government has yet to move on that recommendation despite recent surveys that now suggest the number could be less than half that.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development established a 15-member Grizzly Bear Recovery Team to study the issue and draft a strategy to ensure grizzlies aren't wiped out, as they have been in neighbouring Saskatchewan and jurisdictions further east.
The team presented its report and recommendations in 2005. Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton is expected to announce his department's response to the plan in the near future. Critics say implementing the plan is long overdue.
Grizzlies live in a narrow band along the province's western boundary, primarily between Highway 16 and Highway 3.
Recent DNA testing has produced estimates that there are about 180 bears in that area, outside the mountain parks, and about 160 bears inside the parks, for a total of about 340 grizzlies. Counts of bears south of Highway 3 and north of Highway 16 haven't been completed, but those areas are not expected to yield high numbers.
"We've been far too casual about the shootings and the deaths of bears," laments Jim ****ot of Defenders of Wildlife Canada. "Now that we're aware that there are far fewer than 500, the onus is on the minister to take immediate steps to protect habitat and bears."
Bear biologists say roads are the biggest factor in grizzly deaths. Most human-caused deaths occur within 500 metres of a road.
The grizzly bear recovery team, made up of industry representatives, environmentalists and academics, said one solution is to set aside conservation areas and limit access on resource roads.
Gibeau, who represented National Parks on the recovery team, said grizzlies do best where there are the fewest people.
That means the province must restrict public access to roads built into the wilderness for resource extraction, he said. It means gating or reclaiming resource roads, and fining trespassers.
"It's a reasonable, straightforward plan of access management, providing security for bears and managing human-caused mortalities," Gibeau said.
He notes the Americans have been doing it for 20 years.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," he said. "We already know how to conserve grizzly bears from what the Americans have done. They've been wildly successful in Yellowstone in bringing them back from the endangered species list."
The recovery plan also calls for more monitoring of bear populations, increased efforts to limit bear and human conflicts, new educational programs, and identification and maintenance of bear habitat.
Robert Barclay, a recovery team member and spokesman, said the recovery strategy outlines timelines and costs, but it's a living document that must be constantly updated. It also proposes a yearly evaluation through a publicly accessible annual report.
The three-year plan, which calls for a dedicated, full-time team of researchers and staff, costs out at just under $3 million.
To date the province has suspended the grizzly hunt until 2008 pending more extensive population counts.
Grizzly poaching fines have been hiked from $5,000 to $100,000 and the province has launched a $180,000-per-year Bear Smart campaign that aims to reduce bear-human conflicts through education and better controls of garbage and other bear attractants.
"By doing that, we will save grizzly bears and we will save people from injury and property damage," says Russell Stashko, a Bear Smart provincial co-ordinator. "We will also save taxpayers a lot of dollars."
Gibeau warns that Alberta has an unsustainable grizzly mortality rate, and the longer it delays implementing a recovery strategy, the more expensive it will become.
"It's much easier to actually try to maintain the bears we have than wait until they're all gone and then try to fix it," he said.
dhenton@thejournal.canwest.com
SNAPSHOT OF A SPECIES IN JEOPARDY
Grizzly bear deaths in 2006: 14
- In Alberta: 14
- In national parks: 0
- Females: 4
- Causes: self-defence (6), mistaken (2), illegal (2), problem wildlife (1), highway (1), unknown (2).
Grizzly bear deaths in 2005: 31
- In Alberta: 23
- In national parks: 8
- Females: 10
- Causes: legal hunters (10), research (2), illegal hunters (4), problem wildlife (4), Metis (1), self-defence (2); natural (2), highway (2), railway (2), unknown (2).
Examples of deaths in 2006:
- April 6: Spirit River district
A rancher complains that a grizzly has killed three yearling cattle and wounded a fourth. A bear is trapped and destroyed.
- May 27: Grande Cache
A hunting guide reports that his American clients had mistakenly shot a three-year-old, 90-kilogram grizzly while hunting black bears. A wildlife officer's report notes: "hunter had never killed bear in his life and had never seen a wild grizzly bear." A ticket is issued.
- June 5: Slave Lake district
A guide reports that a client mistakenly shot a grizzly bear in the Marten Hills, believing it was a black bear. A report notes: "It was very evident that (the hunter) was negligent and used poor discretion in determining what species of bear he was shooting at." The hunter is charged.
- June 26: Canmore district
A caller reports that an aboriginal hunter wounded a sow grizzly and killed her two cubs in self-defence. Elders are reported as being "very upset."
- Sept. 28: Grande Cache
A hunter reports shooting an aggressive grizzly that got into moose meat in his truck. "He yelled a few times at the bear, but it continued to come at him," the report notes. The shooting is deemed justified.
- Oct. 11: Valleyview district
A hunter is packing up camp when a young grizzly bear approaches him. He fires several warning shots, but the bear continued to approach the trailer where he stood so he shoots and wounds it. He goes into the bush "to finish what was started" and kills a bear that he sees "loping" in his direction. He later determines he killed two bears.
- Nov. 10: Pincher Creek district
A hunter reports that "a bear exploded out of the bush, roaring, growling, mouth open and charging." He shoots the animal several times and observes a smaller bear running away. Wildlife officers find a dead sow and tracks of three cubs. Attempts to trap the cubs are unsuccessful.
SOURCE: Alberta Fish and Wildlife
© The Edmonton Journal 2007
As few as 500 are left in the province as contact with humans continues to prove fatal, despite a hunting moratorium
Darcy Henton
The Edmonton Journal
Monday, October 15, 2007
Most grizzlies killed since the hunting moratorium are shot in self-defense or when they're mistaken for black bears. Others are killed in road accidents, or are destroyed when they become a threat to public safety.
EDMONTON - The hunters were calling a bull elk, but that's not what showed up.
As they bugled their way up Cabin Ridge in the Crowsnest Pass, they heard what they thought was an elk coming up behind them.
They stopped and waited with guns ready, but instead of the big game they were expecting, a large female grizzly emerged from the thick timber, just 40 metres away.
It spotted them and charged.
One hunter opened fire. A bullet struck the bear in the neck, stopping it just 20 metres away. A second shot to the neck killed her.
No one knows for sure why the 180-kilogram bear attacked. She was healthy and had no cubs.
But her death at the hands of man is not uncommon.
She was one of 14 grizzlies killed in Alberta in 2006 and one of six shot in self-defence. In 2005, when hunting was allowed, 23 grizzlies died, including 10 that were legally shot by hunters.
Alberta suspended the annual spring grizzly hunt for three years in 2006 when initial numbers suggested the population was well below the 1,000 bears that had previously been estimated.
But grizzlies are still dying from what biologists term "human-caused mortality." They say that must be addressed soon if grizzlies are to survive.
"We've suspended the hunt, but hunting really isn't the issue," says mountain park carnivore expert Mike Gibeau.
Most grizzlies are shot in self-defence, or are mistaken for black bears. Some are killed legally by aboriginal hunters, others are shot by poachers or thrill-killers.
Some die in highway or railway accidents. Some are destroyed when they become nuisance bears and pose a threat to public safety by barging into people's yards to feast on everything from garbage and grain to apples and pet food.
The national parks aren't safe havens for grizzlies, either. More than 50 have died in Banff, Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper since 1990, mostly in highway and railway accidents or because they posed a threat.
Many Albertans believe that if Alberta loses its grizzlies, it loses the wilderness. The grizzly is seen as an icon of the wild, but more importantly, it is an umbrella species. If its space is protected, other plants and animals will have space to thrive as well.
Officially, grizzlies are considered "a species that may be at risk."
But the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee recommended in 2002 that grizzlies should be designated a "threatened" species under the provincial Wildlife Act. That was based on estimates that there were only 1,000 grizzly bears left in Alberta.
The government has yet to move on that recommendation despite recent surveys that now suggest the number could be less than half that.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development established a 15-member Grizzly Bear Recovery Team to study the issue and draft a strategy to ensure grizzlies aren't wiped out, as they have been in neighbouring Saskatchewan and jurisdictions further east.
The team presented its report and recommendations in 2005. Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton is expected to announce his department's response to the plan in the near future. Critics say implementing the plan is long overdue.
Grizzlies live in a narrow band along the province's western boundary, primarily between Highway 16 and Highway 3.
Recent DNA testing has produced estimates that there are about 180 bears in that area, outside the mountain parks, and about 160 bears inside the parks, for a total of about 340 grizzlies. Counts of bears south of Highway 3 and north of Highway 16 haven't been completed, but those areas are not expected to yield high numbers.
"We've been far too casual about the shootings and the deaths of bears," laments Jim ****ot of Defenders of Wildlife Canada. "Now that we're aware that there are far fewer than 500, the onus is on the minister to take immediate steps to protect habitat and bears."
Bear biologists say roads are the biggest factor in grizzly deaths. Most human-caused deaths occur within 500 metres of a road.
The grizzly bear recovery team, made up of industry representatives, environmentalists and academics, said one solution is to set aside conservation areas and limit access on resource roads.
Gibeau, who represented National Parks on the recovery team, said grizzlies do best where there are the fewest people.
That means the province must restrict public access to roads built into the wilderness for resource extraction, he said. It means gating or reclaiming resource roads, and fining trespassers.
"It's a reasonable, straightforward plan of access management, providing security for bears and managing human-caused mortalities," Gibeau said.
He notes the Americans have been doing it for 20 years.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," he said. "We already know how to conserve grizzly bears from what the Americans have done. They've been wildly successful in Yellowstone in bringing them back from the endangered species list."
The recovery plan also calls for more monitoring of bear populations, increased efforts to limit bear and human conflicts, new educational programs, and identification and maintenance of bear habitat.
Robert Barclay, a recovery team member and spokesman, said the recovery strategy outlines timelines and costs, but it's a living document that must be constantly updated. It also proposes a yearly evaluation through a publicly accessible annual report.
The three-year plan, which calls for a dedicated, full-time team of researchers and staff, costs out at just under $3 million.
To date the province has suspended the grizzly hunt until 2008 pending more extensive population counts.
Grizzly poaching fines have been hiked from $5,000 to $100,000 and the province has launched a $180,000-per-year Bear Smart campaign that aims to reduce bear-human conflicts through education and better controls of garbage and other bear attractants.
"By doing that, we will save grizzly bears and we will save people from injury and property damage," says Russell Stashko, a Bear Smart provincial co-ordinator. "We will also save taxpayers a lot of dollars."
Gibeau warns that Alberta has an unsustainable grizzly mortality rate, and the longer it delays implementing a recovery strategy, the more expensive it will become.
"It's much easier to actually try to maintain the bears we have than wait until they're all gone and then try to fix it," he said.
dhenton@thejournal.canwest.com
SNAPSHOT OF A SPECIES IN JEOPARDY
Grizzly bear deaths in 2006: 14
- In Alberta: 14
- In national parks: 0
- Females: 4
- Causes: self-defence (6), mistaken (2), illegal (2), problem wildlife (1), highway (1), unknown (2).
Grizzly bear deaths in 2005: 31
- In Alberta: 23
- In national parks: 8
- Females: 10
- Causes: legal hunters (10), research (2), illegal hunters (4), problem wildlife (4), Metis (1), self-defence (2); natural (2), highway (2), railway (2), unknown (2).
Examples of deaths in 2006:
- April 6: Spirit River district
A rancher complains that a grizzly has killed three yearling cattle and wounded a fourth. A bear is trapped and destroyed.
- May 27: Grande Cache
A hunting guide reports that his American clients had mistakenly shot a three-year-old, 90-kilogram grizzly while hunting black bears. A wildlife officer's report notes: "hunter had never killed bear in his life and had never seen a wild grizzly bear." A ticket is issued.
- June 5: Slave Lake district
A guide reports that a client mistakenly shot a grizzly bear in the Marten Hills, believing it was a black bear. A report notes: "It was very evident that (the hunter) was negligent and used poor discretion in determining what species of bear he was shooting at." The hunter is charged.
- June 26: Canmore district
A caller reports that an aboriginal hunter wounded a sow grizzly and killed her two cubs in self-defence. Elders are reported as being "very upset."
- Sept. 28: Grande Cache
A hunter reports shooting an aggressive grizzly that got into moose meat in his truck. "He yelled a few times at the bear, but it continued to come at him," the report notes. The shooting is deemed justified.
- Oct. 11: Valleyview district
A hunter is packing up camp when a young grizzly bear approaches him. He fires several warning shots, but the bear continued to approach the trailer where he stood so he shoots and wounds it. He goes into the bush "to finish what was started" and kills a bear that he sees "loping" in his direction. He later determines he killed two bears.
- Nov. 10: Pincher Creek district
A hunter reports that "a bear exploded out of the bush, roaring, growling, mouth open and charging." He shoots the animal several times and observes a smaller bear running away. Wildlife officers find a dead sow and tracks of three cubs. Attempts to trap the cubs are unsuccessful.
SOURCE: Alberta Fish and Wildlife
© The Edmonton Journal 2007