April 2007
Monthly Archive
Sun 15 Apr 2007
Benjamin Kilham and Charlie Russell will be featured at Vancouver’s North Shore Bear Festival between April 25 and April 29. It will be the first time these two bear experts have met and presented on the same stage.
I am happy to announce that you can now read about Benjamin Kilham and his work on his own website. His work is truly amazing and his insight into the world of bears (and humans) is so very valuable as we struggle to co-exist as humans and with our wildlife counterparts. Please check out his story and goals. Learn and Enjoy! Lots of great bear photos !!!
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Sun 8 Apr 2007
Taiwanese biologist Hwang Mei-hsiu holds a newborn Formosan black bear in the Endemic Species Research Institute in Nantou County. Hwang, an assistant professor at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Wildlife Conservation, is a leading advocate in the conservation of Formosan black bears and has been dubbed “Bear Mother” by Aborigines for her efforts to conserve the endangered animal.
Interview: `Bear Mother’ fights extinction tirelessly
DYING HARD: The Formosan black bear is close to disappearing, but one woman is doing all she can to increase knowledge of the animal before it is too late
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Sun 8 Apr 2007
‘Pretty wide open’ hunting to be allowed in area near Anchorage IMAGE: BLACK BEAR CUB This black bear cub was found walking along a dock railing in Petersburg, Alaska, last Nov. 2. The bears are showing up more often in urban areas, leading officials to expand a predator control program. View related photos Klas Stolpe / AP ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Hunters this summer will be allowed to kill as many black bears as they want in an area near Anchorage in an expansion of Alaska’s predator control program, aimed mostly at wolves until now. In a move approved by the Alaska Board of Game in March, state wildlife managers are targeting an 11,000-square-mile area known as Game Unit 16 across Cook Inlet from Anchorage. Hunters in the game unit currently are allowed three black bears per year. While program managers are working out details, such as if hunters will be allowed to use helicopters as well as airplanes, there are few restrictions. The program begins July 1.
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Sun 8 Apr 2007
Edmonton Journal
Even zoo’s shares get a boost from Knutmania
Kirsten Grieshaber, The Associated Press
Published: Saturday, April 07, 2007
BERLIN - Thousands of people line up at the Berlin Zoo each day to see Knut the polar bear cub, and his button-eyed face has become inescapable for many others who live far from the capital.
Knutmania is in full swing in Germany, where the fluffy baby bear has become the latest merchandising sensation, inspiring Knut T-shirts, mugs, postcards, DVDs, keychains, candy and stuffed teddy bears that cost up to $40 US.
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Wed 4 Apr 2007
note: see complete Vancouver Sun article by Larry Pynn in Comments section
Statement by Chris Genovali of Raincoast Society in response to Mar 31′07 Van Sun Newspaper.
The article by Larry Pynn was one of the most unfortunate pieces of journalism I have ever read on bears. It exploited every hysteria-laden stereotype in the book about grizzlies, including the sensationalistic headline and photo accompanying the article. To rely on people like well-known pro grizzly trophy hunting mouthpiece Gary Shelton, as well as boosters of the grizzly hunt within the Ministry of Environment, for expert testimony, while neglecting to get any opposing viewpoint from either conservationists or independent non-government scientists is biased and extremely unfair. There are many factors at play regarding this situation and they are much more complex than the article has portrayed. For example, below is a letter I wrote to the Ministry regarding the serious problem of the Bella Coola landfill site and its impacts on bears. I still have not received a satisfactory answer to the questions posed in the letter: February 21, 2005
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (now Ministry of Environment)
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Mon 2 Apr 2007
Published in Common Ground.
Spring has arrived along with the tulips, daffodils and Symplocarpus foetidus. Why do I mention Symplocarpus foetidus, better known as skunk cabbage? After emerging from their dens, bears go in search of skunk cabbage to kick-start their system after a few months of hibernation. When the pungent aroma of skunk cabbage wafts through the forest, there are sure to be bears around.
As to why some bear families end up down the mountain amongst humans, survival is the motivating factor. Mother bears, with their cubs, make the trek to avoid predatory and amorous male bears who, without ready access to single females, have been known to kill young cubs, thereby rendering the female fertile and ready to mate within a couple of weeks. And bears of both genders move down in search of food. After losing up to 40 percent of their body weight while sleeping, they are anxious to pack it back on again before the next denning season when they will lose it all again. This is especially important for a female bear carrying a fertilized egg in May or June; the egg will not implant in the fall unless she has reached a healthy body weight.
Bears are opportunistic feeders and are attracted to food sources that require the least amount of energy to obtain, namely garbage, bird feed, ripened fruit – on trees or on the ground – and food from outdoor freezers. Please do not encourage bears in your area by making it easy for them to access food. “Nuisance” bears do not fare well in towns and suburbs, and the consequences are likely to be deadly, so please secure or remove all unnatural food sources from your yards and driveways.
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