[KegRiver]

Anyone who thinks that all Grizzlies are a threat to people simply don't know what they are talking about.

All Bears may have the potential to become a threat, but then, so do Moose.

What makes a Bear a threat is a Sow protecting her cubs, a bear that feels threatened or a bear that has learned to see humans as a food source.

64 years of living in Bear country has taught me that.

I've had my share of Bear encounters, both Black and Grizzlies. Only twice in my life have I had a Bear try to take me out, and both times it was a Black, not a Grizzly.

What authorities fail to realize is that one Bear in a population can become a threat without all Bears becoming a threat. And that eliminating the wrong Bear does nothing to eliminate the threat.

F&W officers know this but their bosses in office towers do not. And biologists don't necessarily know it either.

Jim Shocky knows this because he lives and works in Bear country. F&W officers know it for the same reason.
But people who never spend time in wilderness Bear territory or who only occasional visit such territory know a lot less about Bears then they think they know.

Books, movies and Zoo Bears have their place, but to actually know what Bears are about one has to live among them for years, and even then, there are things to be learned about Bears. Or any wildlife for that matter.

Which is why the people studying Gorillas do so in the jungle, not in an office tower. And still, after decades on every day months at a time observations researchers are still learning new things about Gorillas.

How much more is there to be learned about Grizzlies?

I'd trust Jim Shocky's word more then 99.9 percent of the people who say they know more then he does.