Bears Matter

...because they are sentient beings like us!

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Orphaned bear cubs being rehabilitated for future release back into the wild.

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Bears Matter

Trains Kills Young Grizzly Near Banff

Monday, 28 June 2010 19:54

Second death in a month renewsfears for species

BY RRTSONICHARD CUTHBE, CALGARY HERALD JUNE 27, 2010

A nother grizzly has been killed b-y a train along a treacher ous stretch of track near the town of Banff, again raising concerns a-bout the viability of the popula tion given what is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the mountain park.

The latest death is the sixth grizzly killed since 2007 along the twokilometre stretch of track and comes despite the millions the Canadian Pacific Railway is spending to try to mitigate the problem through Banff National Park.

If nothing is done to reduce grizzly deaths along the rail line through the park, some fear for the fate of the iconic animal in the lower Bow Valley.

"If we don't see a reversal in this particular source of mortality in the Bow Valley, the future of the grizzly bear population here just doesn't look very good at all," said Steve Michel, a human-wildlife conflict specialist with Parks Canada.

The young adult male was struck and killed around 11:40 p.m. Friday, roughly seven kilometres west of Banff. Grain was found on the tracks and also in the bear's feces.

Grain dropping from rail cars has proven a problem along the tracks, attracting hungry bears who are then h-it. The railway line may also be pro viding a corridor for the animals.

Friday's death comes less than a month after a female grizzly was hit a-nd killed by a train about five ki lometres west of Banff. In that case, no grain was found, but the bear's mother was known to frequent the area with her cubs.

The CPR is pouring $20 million into a project to replace the doors of grain hoppers to prevent spillage. The rail company employs a vacuum truck that sucks up what grain does f-all. It has also instituted other prac tices, including whistle warnings to scare away wildlife.

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Protect Bears in the Wild-Letter to Editor

Monday, 28 June 2010 19:50

Taken from: www.opinion/letters_to_the_editor/protect-bears-in-the-wild-letter-of-the-day.html
Letters to the Editor
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Letter of the day: Protect bears in the wild
By: Staff Writer
21/06/2010 7:10 AM

About 15 years ago while I was executive director at the Winnipeg Humane Society, people were upset about polar bear cubs being shipped from Churchill to zoos in Taiwan. With the help of Zoocheck Canada, we discovered polar bears in terrible circumstances in hot countries in both zoos and circuses. The bears were living miserable lives. The result was the Manitoba government creating the Polar Bear Protection Act.
The well-intentioned act will not prevent these circumstances from recurring, as we lose control of the bears once they leave Manitoba. Beyond that, wild polar bears cannot live decent lives in a zoo environment. Their main instinct is to travel, often thousands of kilometres, in search of seals. We simply cannot replicate enough of their Arctic environment.
It saddens me that we still haven't enough respect for these wild animals to admire them in their natural surroundings via video or tundra-buggy experiences. To capture and showcase them for a few minutes' entertainment seems anachronistic, even cruel. I hope our provincial government does the right thing, and does not subject any more wild polar bears to a lifetime of captivity.
If the Assiniboine Park zoo is determined to have a live polar bear, why not offer a sanctuary to captive bears living in miserable circumstances elsewhere in the world? Then we could be proud of giving a retirement home to bears needing sanctuary.

VICKI BURNS
Winnipeg

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Marauding Bear Shot in West Vancouver

Sunday, 27 June 2010 18:55

Last Updated: Friday, June 25, 2010
CBC News

West Vancouver police shot and killed a large black bear that had entered a
home in a residential area of West Vancouver Friday.

The male bear, weighing about 100 kilograms, had gotten into at least one
home and a car in the area of 25th Street and Ottawa Street, where it opened
a refrigerator door and also killed a pet rabbit, conservation officers
said.

"This is one of the smarter bears I've seen," said conservation officer Jack
Trudgian. "It learned how to push doors open fridges."

It appeared to have opened a centre console in the car to get at some candy
there.

The bear had taken brownies out of the refrigerator and eaten them all, said
Trudgian.

Trudgian said the bear had been tagged, indicating it had been caught in an
area of human habitation and relocated in the wild once already.

"Nobody likes to destroy a bear, but sometimes it has to be done," Trudgian
said.

Trudgian said a bear had been reported marauding in the neighbourhood for
about two weeks, but there was no way of knowing for sure whether this was
the same animal.

West Vancouver police were expected to release details Saturday about the
shooting of the bear.

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