Posted on 04/02/2017 6:21:35 PM PDT by COBOL2Java
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Grizzly bears continue to expand their range amid an ongoing effort to turn over management of the bears from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, a federal official said.
“We’ve seen an 11 percent change in increasing range in just a couple of years,” Frank van Manen, head scientist of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, said last week at a meeting in Jackson.
Since coming under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, grizzlies have steadily expanded their habitat outward from the population’s core in Yellowstone National Park.
The fringes of the grizzly range, van Manen said, are typically occupied by dispersing young boar bruins. Typically, he said, there’s a multiyear lag before female bears will fill in territories already settled by males.
“Given what we’ve seen in the Wind River Range (with male bears), I wouldn’t be surprised if females were close behind within a matter of five years,” van Manen said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtop.com ...
I propose reintroducing the grizzly into its native habitat, California, by releasing populations in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood/Beverly Hills. Especially with prohibitions on harming them in any way, populations should expand rapidly, although it is not clear how healthy a high fat, fruit and nut diet would be for the bears.
Last time (6 years ago) I went to Yellowstone I saw three Grizzlies.
First time I went I saw none. I believe the WY & MT Governors took them off the endangered species list also recently.
It’s a mix of good news and bad. Bad for those who are irresponsible with their trash and feed them. Good for those of us who enjoy their beauty.
Let’s hope they control the Muslim population. “mmmm....Muzzies”
As long as it’s blue states, win-win right?
Great. The darn things are all over the place up here already.
And good for those of us who enjoy them as interior decoration.
And bad for the people they attack.
I believe the Grizzlies would find the fruits and nuts tasty in California.
Good news for those who make and sell bear-proof garbage containers.
Yep. Their plan seems to be working.
That may give them the confidence to expand their program, but of course there are always some whiners who'll say they're moving ahead too fast.
A couple of years back, a Wyoming game warden found the remains of *Old Number One* the first Wyoming bear to be tagged and collared. Though the batteries in the radio collar were long dead, an autopsy found six very old .38 bullets in the chest of the bear, possibly answering the questions about that Wyoming cop who went missing back in the 1960's. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.
Take note of my FR tagline.
There is a griz reserve area in the San Juan and Rio Grande mountains of Colorado, but no grizzly bears are believed to be there.
The last one I know of was killed by a bow hunter when he was hunting elk or deer and attacked. He stabbed the bear attacking him several times with an arrow. I believe the US dept of game and fish tried to railroad him for killing a “protected species”.
There is a griz reserve area in the San Juan and Rio Grande mountains of Colorado, but no grizzly bears are believed to be there.
The last one I know of was killed by a bow hunter when he was hunting elk or deer and attacked. He stabbed the bear attacking him several times with an arrow. I believe the US dept of game and fish tried to railroad him for killing a “protected species”.
A favorite ! Right up there with “... you don’t need to run faster than the bear, just faster than the other people with you ...”
And bad for the people they attack.Not necessarily.
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