One Less Grizz

[EarlyRises]

I was talking to a guy last weekend who used to be a park ranger in Kananaskis. He said that grizzlies are slow to reproduce in Alberta. They are not sure why. One female grizzly they are monitoring had her first set of cubs this year. At the age of 10. She only had them for 2 months when a male grizzly killed them. Nature can be cruel.

 

My 2 cents on this story. I feel bad for the bear they shot. He was half his pre-hibernation weight and was just defending his food. There are less than 700 grizzlies left, last count. Did you know their natural habitat is the prairies. We kinda screwed them out of that.

 

Not saying that I am not glad that the boys are ok. But don't post a trophy picture in the paper. Heck, don't even publicize it. Just makes others want to do it. Which is a shame.

 

To the guys at the Sun.. write an article on bear safety awareness. Educate people on signs and indications. And to our government .. start funding bear rehabilitation programs.

 

There .. guess that was 10 cents.

 

[matt1984]

Are you seriously attempting to compare bear hunting to catch and release fishing?

 

Yes, I am seriously comparing the two. Like it or not, both are blood sports and even with proper catch and release you will inadvertently kill several trout in your lifetime. The diffence is that our native trout are in much worse shape than our black bear population numbers. I guess since we kill fish with a fly instead of a bullet its okay. Sorry you can't see the similarities from your hig horse. To each their own, I couldn't shoot a bear but I don't have the audacity to judge someone who chooses to legally do so.

[Pipes]

The morality of hunting black bears and the fact that they shot this bear is irrelevant except for the fact that they were carrying firearms.

Could have easily been a flyfisherman carrying a gun for protection or a hiker or rancher checking his cattle.

You can only make judgment on confirmed facts. The only one I saw in the article is that F&W confirmed there was a fresh kill. Informed people know there is a huge difference between a bunch of MEC garment clad people skipping through the woods running across a bear travelling down the same path and a bear that is trying to protect a kill (the MEC comment made for dramatic effect only). I've been involved with both first hand and I've read my share from Herraro, Geist etc.

These kids weren't hunting grizzly like some here may suggest. That's a stupid statement. If they were, they would not shoot it in the head, they would not report it...etc.

I take what's written in the Sun with a grain of salt. Grizzly bears are not endangered. In fact, we don't even have a clue how many bears are in Alberta. The study completed a few years ago is riddle with questionable methods and material and is a whole discussion on its own.

I'm not a bear hunter, but hunting black bears in Alberta is legal, so if you have a problem with it, take it up with your MLA.

I'm sorry that this bear died, but I too would have done the same thing.

 

It's easy, really easy to pass judgment sitting in front of computer screen. Like I said before, I have been in similar situations, luckily with better outcomes. But you can't describe the feeling to someone who has never encountered this.

 

Oh and I do boycott MEC.

[matt1984]

The morality of hunting black bears and the fact that they shot this bear is irrelevant except for the fact that they were carrying firearms.

Could have easily been a flyfisherman carrying a gun for protection or a hiker or rancher checking his cattle.

You can only make judgment on confirmed facts. The only one I saw in the article is that F&W confirmed there was a fresh kill. Informed people know there is a huge difference between a bunch of MEC garment clad people skipping through the woods running across a bear travelling down the same path and a bear that is trying to protect a kill (the MEC comment made for dramatic effect only). I've been involved with both first hand and I've read my share from Herraro, Geist etc.

These kids weren't hunting grizzly like some here may suggest. That's a stupid statement. If they were, they would not shoot it in the head, they would not report it...etc.

I take what's written in the Sun with a grain of salt. Grizzly bears are not endangered. In fact, we don't even have a clue how many bears are in Alberta. The study completed a few years ago is riddle with questionable methods and material and is a whole discussion on its own.

I'm not a bear hunter, but hunting black bears in Alberta is legal, so if you have a problem with it, take it up with your MLA.

I'm sorry that this bear died, but I too would have done the same thing.

 

It's easy, really easy to pass judgment sitting in front of computer screen. Like I said before, I have been in similar situations, luckily with better outcomes. But you can't describe the feeling to someone who has never encountered this.

 

Oh and I do boycott MEC.

 

Nice to see a reply that doesn't appear to be written by a PITA member with their head up their arse..

 

[ÜberFly]

1st of all it's "PETA" and secondly, everyone is entitled to their opinion even if you don't agree with it!

 

P

 

Nice to see a reply that doesn't appear to be written by a PITA member with their head up their arse..

 

[matt1984]

1st of all it's "PETA" and secondly, everyone is entitled to their opinion even if you don't agree with it!

 

P

 

I've always preferred the acroynm PITA " pain in the ___". Seems suiting.

[EarlyRises]

Some phone numbers. To report bear encounters / sightings of any kind. You guys probably already know, but I didn't. Park rangers are creating a database to help with the management / stewardship, and reporting sightings / encounters will help.

 

To report encounters / sightings in Banff National Park: 403-762-4506

To report encounters / sightings in Kananaskis / Bow Valley: 403-591-7755

 

 

[trailhead]

Those are good phone numbers, but the only problem is it doesn't cover SW Alberta, where that bear was shot. I have seen many grizzlies in and around the Crowsnest Pass, tried to report the sow with two cubs at Phillips Lk and the male by Lundbreck and the little blond one that charged me along the Oldman. But the fish cops just said "Ah yeah, uh huh, so no one was hurt. Thanks for the call."

[CrookedHooker]

For anyone who is judging these kids for what they did should strap a steak to your belt and go for a hike just to see what happens and how you would react.

 

fact of the matter is if they were out looking to shoot a grizzly to get a nice rug out of the deal the animal would have been shot and no one would have ever found out.

 

the fact that conservation was immediatly notified says alot about these kids they know the rules and were willing to face the consiquences of the possibility of poaching charges if things werent lining up in regards to their story.