Springing into Bear Season

It sure is warm out west this spring! With those warmer temperatures comes what our team affectionately calls “bear season.” As the first grizzly bear tracks of spring show up in the mountains of Montana, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming, we go to work making sure bears avoid trouble and are safe. 2015 is shaping up to be a busy year. Here are just a few of the projects our grizzly bear team is working on.

Grizzly Bear Electric Fencing Incentive
Too often, grizzly bears are killed because they’re considered a danger to humans. This occurs most often when bears get into trouble with “attractants” such as people’s livestock, birdfeeders, garbage or fruit trees. Once a bear discovers these tasty treats, it is not likely to forget the location and can come back repeatedly, causing understandable concern for the landowner. In response to rising conflicts between grizzly bears and people, Defenders started a grizzly bear electric fence incentive program in 2010. Through this program, we’re helping residents in grizzly bear country protect items that might “lure” bears into trouble. This way, we can stop the cycle of conflict before it even begins. Defenders’ Electric Fencing Incentive Program pays half of the costs (up to $500) to install a bear-resistant electric fence around a bear “attractant.” Since 2010, we have completed more than 150 fences. And, we hope to install another 50 in 2015. As of early May, 35 landowners had already enrolled in this year’s program! A large part of this program’s success is due to the technical and hands-on assistance we provide through Russ Talmo, Defenders’ electric fencing project manager and dedicated field technician.Russ Talmo, © Defenders of Wildlife

Russ Talmo stands alongside Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff after completing a much anticipated electric fence.

Securing Garbage from Grizzly Bears
Bears follow their noses to the next tasty treat, which means garbage that is left out where bears can get it is often too tempting for bears to pass up. This usually ends badly for the bear, as they become used to getting into garbage for food near where people live. These “food conditioned” bears are often relocated or euthanized by management agencies due to human safety concerns. So, we’re working with local landowners and wildlife managers to secure garbage containers that could otherwise lead bears into trouble. Together with a large group of partners, Defenders was able to purchase 50 bear-resistant garbage containers for a town in northwest Montana with a history of black and grizzly bear conflicts. Those containers were placed in the community this spring at no cost to landowners. We will continue this effort in other areas in 2015.

Defending Grizzly Bear Habitat in National Forests
Another major threat to grizzly bears is loss of habitat. More development is occurring on private lands in the northern Rocky Mountains at the same time as grizzly bear populations continue to recover and expand. This is why it is essential that bears have access to habitat on secure public lands. Defenders is working to make sure that public land protections in the northern Rockies remain strong so that this bear population keeps thriving. This spring several national forests in Montana are making changes to how they manage the land, in part for grizzly bears. If done right, the new plans could provide much needed habitat for the region’s grizzly bear populations. Equally important, the various habitats would be connected, enabling bears to live and move between populations. Defenders is dedicating a large team to reviewing and commenting on these forest plans, and will help advise the Forest Service on what is best for the continued recovery of the region’s imperiled wildlife.Grizzly bear, © Bill KeetingWide-ranging grizzly bears don’t understand boundaries, and so the Forest Service must collaborate with other federal, state, local, and private entities to ensure the bears are protected across large landscapes, including national forests.

Range Riders
If you know about Defenders’ work with wolves, you may have heard the term “range riders” before. This is one of our programs that can benefit multiple species – in this case, both wolves and grizzly bears. In several areas throughout the country, Defenders is working with ranchers to employ on-the-ground tools and strategies to protect livestock from predators, and therefore reduce lethal control of predators. Defenders is assisting on three range rider projects this year in Montana. By increasing human presence on the landscape amongst livestock, the riders can deter predators, increase awareness about predator activity in the area, and address sick and injured livestock as soon as possible. This program has been highly effective in reducing potential conflict between grizzly bears, wolves and livestock, and we hope to continue to see it grow.

Recovery of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear
Recovery of grizzly bears in Washington State to the North Cascades Ecosystem is slowly marching toward being a reality. The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched the effort to start figuring out how to recover bears in this ecosystem with an Environmental Impact Statement earlier this year. During the first public comment period for this process, the agencies received approximately 2,900 online comments, of which about 79 percent were supportive of recovering bears to the North Cascades. Defenders’ members and other grizzly bear supporters sent a loud and clear message: Washington is ready to be grizzly country once again. This next year, Defenders will work to keep momentum up for recovery of grizzly bears there and continue our education and outreach efforts to increase knowledge and tolerance of grizzlies, as well as continue to talk to our state legislators about the importance of grizzly bears to ecosystem health and why Washington needs them on our landscape.

On top of all of these projects, Defenders continues to work with state, federal and tribal agencies as well as local residents and other conservation groups to raise awareness about living with grizzly bears and the tools available that allow people and grizzly bears to coexist on the landscape. Where grizzly bears remain in the continental U.S., the largest threats facing them are human related deaths and habitat loss. In some areas like the North Cascades, grizzly bears are barely hanging on. We are on the ground to ensure grizzly bears are here to stay and thrive so future generations can enjoy this wild and majestic animal.


Save Yellowstone’s Grizzly Bears From Hunters.

Target: Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Goal: Keep the Yellowstone grizzlies on the endangered species list and continue protecting them from extinction.

The grizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park may be taken off the endangered species list, opening them to any number of threats including hunting. Their numbers are said to be rebounding due to their classification as an endangered species. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service thinks the grizzlies are doing so well they are considering having them de-listed, however, this would be disastrous to their long-term survival.

Hunters who have been prevented from hunting grizzly bears could reduce their numbers not long after their protections are removed. It is illegal to kill a grizzly due to their protections, but one was killed around the time their potential de-listing made the news.

The grizzlies have to face the effects of climate change on their habitats just like other animals worldwide. Due to this threat alone, newly de-listed species could be headed back to being re-listed if they are removed too soon. There have already been changes to the grizzly bears’ food supply in Yellowstone National Park. Their nutrition impacts their already low reproduction rates, which are the slowest of any terrestrial mammal in North America. This makes it even more difficult for them to rebound from survival threats than many other animals.

Their increased numbers are truly an endangered species success story, but the Yellowstone grizzlies are not out of the woods yet. It is too soon and short-sighted to take their protections away. Sign the petition below to support continued protections for the grizzly bear population of Yellowstone Park.

SIGN THE PETITION LETTER;

Dear Mr. Ashe,

I have learned there are plans to remove the grizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park from the endangered species list, and I wanted to let you know that I oppose removing their protections.

Once their protections are removed, grizzly bears will be open to a number of threats that could put their survival at risk, including hunters who have been wanting to hunt grizzlies as big game. Even though it is currently illegal to hunt grizzly bears, one was killed shortly after it was announced that you were considering removing their protections.

The grizzlies have to face the effects of climate change on their habitats just like other animals worldwide. There have already been changes to their food supply in Yellowstone National Park. Their nutrition affects their already low reproduction rates, which are the slowest of any terrestrial mammal in North America, making it even more difficult for them to rebound from survival threats.

Their increased numbers are truly an endangered species success story, but the Yellowstone grizzlies are not out of the woods yet, so to speak. Many oppose de-listing the grizzlies, including local Native American groups. It is too soon and short-sighted to take their protections away.

I urge you to continue protections for the still vulnerable grizzly bear population of Yellowstone National Park. They are not ready to be unprotected and I am not ready to see them endangered again.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]


Photo Credit: AlbertHerring

5 Steps From Bile Farm to Freedom for Rescued Bears


Once a bear has been freed from a life of bile extraction, the true road to recovery begins.
Their cages can be left thousands of miles behind, but decades of pain and suffering are harder to erase. The rehabilitation of a bear is a long and very individual process, but there are five steps each bear must pass on their personal journey to recovery.

1. Quarantine

5 Steps From Bile Farm to Freedom for Rescued Bears
When bears arrive at the sanctuary, they will first need to be quarantined for 45 days. It’s a vital step to protect the health of all the bears at the sanctuary, but also requires careful management to keep the bears stimulated.
During this time there’ll be plenty of extra treats, as well as puzzle feeders and even new tastes, sounds and smells specially designed to stimulate the bears and fend off boredom.

2. Health Checks

5 Steps From Bile Farm to Freedom for Rescued Bears
When the vet team believes they are ready, rescued bears will receive full health checks and any medical procedures they require. This might include the removal of their gallbladder if significantly damaged by bile extraction. For many bears rescued from the bile industry it will include extensive dental surgery to remove damaged teeth from a lifetime of poor diet and vain attempts to chew their way to freedom through iron bars. If painful conditions are discovered, vets will be able to improve the animal’s welfare either with surgery or medication.

3. Dens


Following quarantine, bears can expect to be moved to a much larger indoor area known as a den.

When moving to a new, larger environment, the reaction of each bear will very much depend on their personality and past experiences. Some rescued bears, such as Shamrock and Peter initially find the move to a larger space traumatic and can be reluctant to enter at first. Others immediately relish having more space to play and jump right in.

4. Meeting the Neighbors

5 Steps From Bile Farm to Freedom for Rescued Bears
Once each bear is comfortable in a den, the next step is usually careful integration with other bears. Moon bears are not thought to be social animals in the wild, and so communities must be carefully selected and managed.
Prior to integration, sanctuary staff carefully monitor the bears for signs of stress or aggression. If there are no negative signs, then the bears will be introduced in a non-threatening environment under careful management. Long term, relationships can be extremely therapeutic for rescued bears, with many—such as Mama and Moggy or Bonny and Prince—forming strong, life-long bonds.

5. The Green Green Grass of Home

5 Steps From Bile Farm to Freedom for Rescued Bears
The most significant step in any bear’s rehabilitation is their first steps out into an enclosure. Whether this takes place before or after integration with other bears, it is a milestone in any bear’s recovery and – like the introduction to a den – each bear reacts differently. Some – like Ti Map – take time to fully trust large open spaces, while others are quick to explore every nook and cranny.
Over time, rescued bears come to realise that their new good life is forever and start to relax. They learn to live with other bears, to trust their human carers – to forage and play and finally live the life denied them by the bear bile industry.

Home-Sweet-Home

Finally, we must remember that those who exploit the bears see them only as property and a resource – we see each bear as an individual. That means every single bear will be respected, carefully monitored and have a slightly different route from farm to freedom especially tailored just for them.
All image source: Animals Asia/Flickr

Tell Top Obama Officials to Meet With Tribes Over Grizzly Protection

Yellowstone grizzly
Tribal leaders in the West this week called on top wildlife officials in the Obama administration to delay any plans to remove federal protections for Yellowstone's grizzlies and instead attend a summit this summer, both to hear the tribes' opposition to stripping protection from grizzly bears and to show respect for their nations and cultures.

Act now to urge Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to do just that.

The request follows a Northern Cheyenne tribal representative being forcibly stopped from speaking by the state-federal grizzly bear committee when he attempted to announce the tribe's opposition to stripping Endangered Species Act protection from the species.

In a letter to Jewell and Ashe, the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council said the Fish and Wildlife Service has "continued to ignore" some 35 tribal resolutions and declarations raising concerns about stripping Endangered Species Act protection from grizzlies that live in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Not only is an apology warranted after the incident in Wyoming, but it's time for the Interior Department to do what's right. Tribes have a longstanding cultural connection with the region's grizzlies and deserve to be fully heard before any further steps are taken to strip the bears' protections.

Take action to tell Ashe and Jewell to put delisting plans on hold for Yellowstone's grizzlies and attend the tribal summit this summer.
Click here to take action and get more information.