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Hunter shoots grizzly sow
 
Cathy Ellis
For The Calgary Herald

Thursday, November 01, 2007

The province is investigating the shooting death of a female grizzly bear by a hunter in Kananaskis Country.

Provincial officials say a hunting party reported a grizzly sow had been shot in self-defence at Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park, where the elk and sheep season is open.

The incident occurred last week.

“It’s always tragic when we lose a female grizzly bear,” said Ray Andrews, operations manager for K-Country’s provincial parks.

“The incident is currently under investigation.”

Andrews said the hunter told provincial officials the female grizzly bear came too close to the campsite where he and his son were camping.

“He said he shot the bear out of fear for his son’s safety,” he said.

The hunter was legally hunting elk and sheep.

Andrews said no further details would be released until the investigation wraps up later this month.

With evidence suggesting that Alberta’s grizzly bear population is in decline, conservationists say more work needs to be done with hunters to help avoid bear conflicts.

Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada, said the group awaits the outcome of this investigation to see what might have been done better, but added the province’s BearSmart efforts fall far short of what is needed.

He said he believes the hunting community has a responsibility to help come up with solutions to reduce conflicts with bears, such as establishing best practices in hunting camps.

“With this grizzly bear population in peril, it’s absolutely mandatory that the province step up efforts to reduce conflicts that could result in both human injury and dead bears,” said Pissot.

The Alberta Fish and Game Association, which is calling on the provincial government to lift the moratorium on the grizzly bear hunt, says hunters often have no choice but to kill a bear in self-defence.

“First of all, a person has to look after his or her safety and the safety of hunting parties, although we’d rather grizzly bears aren’t taken under those circumstances,” said Maurice Nadeau, the group’s president.

“None of us actually want to kill a bear if not permitted to do so under the rules and regulations of the province.”

The province suspended the spring grizzly bear hunt in 2006 for three years following warnings Alberta’s grizzly bear numbers may be much lower than the 1,000 previously thought.

New information indicates the population may be fewer than 400 individuals provincewide, although the government has yet to complete research and counts in two areas.

Last month, more than three years after a government-struck grizzly bear task force delivered its recovery plan to the province, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development finally approved it.

The province indicated it did not agree with all the recovery team’s recommendations, but is willing to begin looking at limiting unregulated motorized access in some areas of core grizzly bear habitat.

The government is still refusing to list the grizzly bear as endangered or threatened at this time.

“There’s still no real changes for grizzlies on the ground. There’s still nothing that makes life better for grizzlies,” said Pissot.

Cathy Ellis is a reporter for the Rocky Mountain Outlook
© The Calgary Herald 2007