Posted on 11/03/2015 3:03:30 PM PST by SJackson
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Federal wildlife managers have determined that grizzly bear numbers in and around Yellowstone National Park have rebounded sufficiently to propose stripping the animals of U.S. Endangered Species Act protections in the months ahead, a spokesman told Reuters.
The latest count of grizzlies in the Yellowstone region puts the estimated population of the hump-shouldered bruins at just over 750, well exceeding the government's recovery goal of 500 animals, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
That compares with just 136 believed left in the Yellowstone ecosystem - encompassing parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho - when grizzlies were formally listed as threatened throughout the Lower 48 states in 1975, after they were hunted, trapped and poisoned to near extinction.
Sportsmen and ranchers, who make up a powerful political constituency in Western states, have strongly advocated de-listing grizzlies, arguing that their growing numbers pose a threat to humans, livestock and big-game animals such as elk.
Environmentalists have raised concerns that while grizzlies have made a comeback, their recovery could falter if federal safeguards are lifted, a move that would open the animals to public hunting outside of the national park.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
Wrestling A Grizzly Bear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nSWc43TLaI
How to fight off a bear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKIMaDDKmVI
Why do we need to have lots of grizzlies?
August 7th a female Grizzly ATE a 63 year old male hiker in Yellowstone.
Do a search of ‘Yellowstone bear attacks 2015’.
The CNN article has some nice details.....
With that tranquilizer dart in his backside, the bear probably fell asleep after dinner.
Seeing those bears made think it would probably not be a good idea to walk across the Rockies in Canada.
Yes, while driving out west and Canada we're always on the lookout for cars parked along the highway. That usually means someone's spotted a wild critter. Which is how we saw bears in Canada. Saw cars parked along the road, and the wife hollered at me to slow down and park too.
Make sure you have bells on your pack and carry pepper spray. You should know the difference between black bear & grizzly bear scat.....black bear scat has berries & fur in it...grizzly scat has small bells in it and smells like pepper spray.
The first thing my family and I saw when we drove into Yellowstone was a grizzly bear. This was in 2012. It was catching fish in the Soda Butte right off the main road.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.