Fox: Grizzly bears on move in Rockies as hunting is in limbo

[CMichaud]

Not sure if this was already posted but in case it was not...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/grizzly-b...ng-is-in-limbo

Excerpt below..

Grizzly bears are expanding their range in the U.S. Northern Rockies, spreading from remote wilderness into farmland amid a legal fight over proposed hunting.

New government data from grizzly population monitoring show bruins in the Yellowstone region of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho expanded their range by about 1,500 square miles (3,900 square kilometers) over the past two years.

They now occupy almost 27,000 square miles (69,000 square kilometers), a range that has grown 34 percent in the past decade.

Wyoming and Idaho officials proposed grizzly hunts last year, but they were blocked by a judge's ruling.

An estimated 700 bears live in the Yellowstone area. Biologists say that's a conservative figure and doesn't include grizzlies that are outside a designated monitoring area that's centered on Yellowstone National Park.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contends the animals no longer need federal protection. State officials say hunting would give them a tool to better manage their numbers, but that it would be limited to sustainable levels.


Yellowstone became a refuge for the species last century after hunting and trapping killed off bears across most of their range.

The park remains a grizzly stronghold. But younger, male bears search for territory of their own outside the park, with females soon following behind, van Manen said.

A similar dynamic has played out in Northwestern Montana, home of more than 1,000 grizzlies. The area includes Glacier National Park and the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Bears in recent years have attacked livestock dozens of miles outside those wild areas, on the open plains of central Montana where ranches and cropland occupy the landscape.

[Ronaround]

Who wouldn't want a big ol' bruiser mounted in your living room!

[Grizzly Adams]

I get a Bear Smart report every Friday, for Mountainview County. Very tough to argue the same isn't happening here. I don't even visit my favorite island of Wilderness, just down the road , without packing , due to repeated Grizzly sightings.

Grizz

[walking buffalo]

"An estimated 700 bears live in the Yellowstone area. Biologists say that's a conservative figure and doesn't include grizzlies that are outside a designated monitoring area that's centered on Yellowstone National Park."

The government already has a GBear hunt!
Only Federal/State employees can obtain the licence.

A quick count shows 40 Grizzly bears were killed in the Yellowstone area by government agents in 2018.

https://www.usgs.gov/data-tools/2018...tone-ecosystem

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

"An estimated 700 bears live in the Yellowstone area. Biologists say that's a conservative figure and doesn't include grizzlies that are outside a designated monitoring area that's centered on Yellowstone National Park."

The government already has a GBear hunt!
Only Federal/State employees can obtain the licence.

A quick count shows 40 Grizzly bears were killed in the Yellowstone area by government agents in 2018.

https://www.usgs.gov/data-tools/2018...tone-ecosystem

Actually if you look several of those listed were natural Mortalities or still under investigation so....

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

Actually if you look several of those listed were natural Mortalities or still under investigation so....

I only counted the euthanized "Known, human-caused, management capture and removal" problem bears.
2018 total mortality was 69.
Another 5 bears found believed to have died before '18.

10% mortality is a HUGE number for a species that supposedly only grows by 2-5% a year. There must be a lot more bears out there than are being counted or bears are much more prolific than managers are claiming.

[bezzola]

I pack my defender and bear spray now when we hang our cameras
Have had grizzly the last 2 years on them

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

I only counted the euthanized "Known, human-caused, management capture and removal" problem bears.
2018 total mortality was 69.
Another 5 bears found believed to have died before '18.

10% mortality is a HUGE number for a species that supposedly only grows by 2-5% a year. There must be a lot more bears out there than are being counted or bears are much more prolific than managers are claiming.

I am an promise you there’s more bears then they are counting.