An wildlife ecologist explains in the Cranbrook Daily Townsman that grizzly bears numbers in southern British Columbia are healthy and are close to the capacity of the land.
The article, entitled “Grizzly Bear Numbers in Southern BC, Alberta and Northern Montana” makes the following assertions regarding grizzly bears:
“The problems faced by grizzly bears and grizzly bear managers are fundamentally different now from what they were 30 years ago. These estimates of bear population numbers and densities are indicative of a healthy, robust and a relatively high density population; not a population at risk. There is no hunting harvest in Alberta, or Montana, and minimal harvest in BC. Harvest by hunters in BC is based on a 6% annual mortality target, including problem bears killed by Conservation Officers, mortality on roads and railways, etc. Hunting results in about a third of this mortality.
… to suggest that they are “at risk” today, is to ignore fundamental facts relating to the present population. We have collectively done a hell of a job and grizzly bears have recovered across their range in our part of the world. This is a major accomplishment.”
Grizzly Bear Numbers in Southern BC, Alberta and Northern Montana – Dec 18, 2013