Posted on 12/31/2010 11:19:06 AM PST by Artemis Webb
BILLINGS, Mont. Grizzly bear deaths neared record levels for the region around Yellowstone National Park in 2010, but government biologists said the population remains robust enough to withstand the heavy losses.
An estimated 75 of the protected animals were killed or removed from the wild, according to a government-sponsored grizzly study team. That equates to one grizzly gone for every eight counted this year in the sparsely populated Yellowstone region of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
The deaths were blamed primarily on grizzlies pushing into inhabited areas, where bears get into trouble as they search out food in farmyards and from the big game herds also stalked by hunters. Despite those conflicts, researchers recently reported the population topped 600 animals for the first time since grizzly recovery efforts began in the 1970s.
"The population will continue to grow with the mortalities we're seeing now," said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Trapped and hunted to near-extermination last century, grizzly numbers have slowly rebounded since they were declared a threatened species in 1975.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Cool. Seems a good idea to reintroduce grizzlies to California, doesn’t it?
YES!
It could really PO the pot farmers......{;^)
ObamaBearCare!
Right, every deer hunters dream is to come on to a grizzly while hunting. Keep the damn things where they are, we killed them off for a reason.
Damn good start...wish we could take out lawyers with such zeal!
Remember that idiot in Alaska who yelled, “I LOVE YOU” to the big brown grizzlies?
I can’t believe (yes I can) that they tried to make a hero of that idiot.
Park rangers warned him to stay away from those big browns.
He wanted to be famous, er, uh, cough, he is.
Got himself and his oh so smart girlfriend ‘et!
Great documentary on that dumb ass.
Yeh I was thinking a little re-introduction program along the border fence might be a good idea.
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