Nearly extinct last century, grizzly bears are back in a big way in the northern Rockies — rising in numbers, pushing into new territories and mauling hunters who stumble across them in the wild.
While state and federal officials laud the bear's comeback, others say it's time to lift the remaining protections that helped them recover. They point to recent grizzly encounters as evidence.
Protection of the species has worked in increasing the numbers of bears. Now there’s an increase of the number of bear/human contacts. Some of these contacts have proven that the grizzly may be quite dangerous to man, but that man can turn the tables pretty darn quickly.
Workman's close call was the latest in a string of bear attacks and near misses this year in Montana and portions of Idaho and Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park. While there is no comprehensive data on grizzly-human conflicts, an Associated Press tally shows at least a dozen grizzly bear attacks reported since April.
Seven people were injured, some severely. At least five grizzlies were killed, either during the attacks or later by wildlife agents.
First, why the hell isn’t someone officially keeping track of these conflicts? I would think the data as to where and how often they take place would be vital to making any decisions. The establishment of a hotline to report any interactions at campsites, around homes, on ranches, while hunting, etc. would seem the least that could be done.
And second, things don’t seem to work out too well for the griz when the conflict involves human injuries. If there is concern for the bear population, why then go out and search for and kill the bears after the attack is over? (I know the reason—the bear has become a threat to humans by its success in attacking—but it does seem counter to the protectionists’ argument for hands off.)
You can expect the PETA and HSUS groups to get their panties in a twist as soon as someone officially proposes a hunt. The majority of those making the biggest noise will have spent little or no time in the woods and have only a meager knowledge of wildlife biology or ecology.
1 comment:
Sadly, the protection of these great animals will be challenged more and more as each year goes on. Why? The population growth of America is out of control. In so many places people complain of coyotes and wolves and scorpions and snakes, bears and deer and wildfires encroaching on where humans live, work, and play. That's because humans keep building further and further away from established towns and cities. And then they often don't realize that where they're moving to, someone already lived there before, the animals did. Wildlife will therefore continually diminish in the Lower 48. The best (and maybe only) place someday to see a raccoon or some deer will be in a zoo.
The grizzly is not dangerous to man whatsoever... if man doesn't encounter one. But because of population growth, it'll occur more and more each year.
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