[mewzilla]

We've had bear in our neighborhood. Sheesh, folks just call the DEC or the cops. Someone comes to tranq the bear and return him somewhere less hazardous to his health. Four-footed predators are the least of our worries.

[Kenton]

As for those bears that prove resistant to all efforts at re-education, selective euthanasia by professional sharpshooters is surely a preferable alternative to the invariably messy exploits of amateur hunters set loose among an indeterminate number of free-roaming bears

This is just silly. The only "professional sharpshooters" that are available are cops, and they aren't any more qualified to kill a bear than say, a licensed bear hunter.

It doesn't take a SWAT Team member to cleanly kill a bear. And licensed hunters pay money into the public treasury, they don't draw overtime for doing a job you already have volunteers licensed for.

In order to come close to harvesting the required number of animals, you'd have to have a large staff of shooters employed almost full time at public expense.

Paying them to hunt. I want that job. Pay ME to hunt your black bears, I'm a proven good shot, and it sounds a lot more fun than my day job.

[GladesGuru]

New York Times articles like this earned that sorry paper its new name 'the Slimes'.

Consider this line from the article:
"Some wildlife experts and bear biologists who were called in to examine New Jersey's situation noted that the hunt would eliminate only about 500 bears — about as many as were born the previous winter — and therefore make little or no dent in the total population."

Now look at the - "and therefore make little or no dent in the total population." Firstly, the Slimes just made a convincing case for another hunt in the near future. We do want fewer bears, remember? And the hunt won't kill enough, so set another hunt. Now!

Secondly, hunting bears does make the survivors nervious. And that is another reason for the hunt. And that is what the Slimes is whining about. Nasty, evil, white, liniar logical, eurocentric males are exerting their dominance on nature.

Their presence in the woods is sacrilige! They are walking on the face of holy mother Gia!

Pity.

[Clemenza]

Coyote have been spotted in Woodlawn Cemetary, Deer in Pelham Bay Park. Will they be able to contain the Fauna at the Harlem River?

One of the more charming aspects of living in the Bronx is the chance to see wildlife you don't see in the other four boroughs and not just in the Zoo. When I was there, we had skunks, oppossums, chipmunks, "black" grey squirrels, a variety of birds, etc.