Grizzly Bear 148 shot dead by hunter

[Catherine]

Bear 148 is a young Grizzly Bear female who lived in Alberta. For a number of years she has been in conflict with humans. After a number of unsuccessful relocations in Alberta, she was moved to a protected area in BC. Sadly bears don't read signs or follow rules and she wandered out of the protected area and was shot by a hunter.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/be...-1.4310406


http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news...ter-in-b-c

Two things make this especially sad.
The laws have been changed banning bear trophy hunting, but they don't go into effect until November 30.
She was a young female and was possibly pregnant. If not this year, she certainly would have been pregnant in years to come.

If she had just stayed in the protected area or if the law had gone into effect sooner, bear 148 would still be alive.

If she was pregnant her cubs died with her. If not, all her future cubs died with her and their potential offspring. 
Tragic as her death is, it is not just about her. It is also about the loss of her DNA from the grizzly gene pool. 
All of this gone for the sake of some guy getting a trophy. Bear 148  deserved a much better fate than to be a trophy on some person's wall.

I can think of no justification for trophy hunting.

[Tobi]

My internet is a little slow tonight so I can't load that video. But I get the picture. How very sad that she had to be shot before the end of November when she would have been safe. No....bears cannot read boundary notices. Poor bear.

[Catherine]

She wasn't a bad bear. She was just trying to live in a world where people have taken her land. She would have been okay in her new place, but she was new to the area. She didn't know the safe areas. What does a bear know about trophy hunting anyhow. 
It is horrible to think of her as a trophy for some hunter. 

Why couldn't they have stopped the hunt right away? She would still be alive to give birth to many more grizzlies.

[LPC]

Yes, very sad. But at least Canada is moving in the right direction (towards banning of trophy hunting). As far as I can ascertain after a search of the net, trophy hunting of grizzly bears remains fully legal in Alaska, USA - and there no signs of that being changed. Worse, in Maine, USA, trapping of other bears (a particularly cruel way of catching bears, as they can be in severe pain for days until the hunter returns) remains legal.

[Catherine]

Province by province we are changing the laws. I am not sure they always go in the right direction.

Ontario has reopened the spring bear hunt. It involves putting out bait to attract hungry bears are they emerge from their dens.
Here is an example.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/...IJg&adurl=

This is a particularly nasty hunt because the bears are hungry after a long winter and less cautious. Also if they kill a female her cubs back in the den will die.

The spring hunt has ben banned for years. Why would we bring it back.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/...IJg&adurl=

In Ontario we have taken a step backwards. We don't have grizzlies, so we allow black bears for trophy hunts.

I agree about the traps. They are a nasty way to hunt anything. The animal is not killed. It is left to suffer for days in pain.
The whole design of the trap is cruel. It will take more work if we are ever going to get traps banned.

I am just glad Grizzly trophy hunting will be banned in BC. Even if it is too late for bear 148 many other bears will be spared.

[LPC]

What is it with these trophy hunters? Is their ego so inflated that it is more important than the life of an innocent animal? If it were a case of self-defence, I could perhaps understand. But these bears are deliberately sought out and killed.

[Catherine]

Quote:What is it with these trophy hunters? Is their ego so inflated that it is more important than the life of an innocent animal? If it were a case of self-defence, I could perhaps understand. But these bears are deliberately sought out and killed.

It is the opposite. Their egos are so deflated that they need to kill innocent animals to prove themselves. They need the trophy to prove to themselves and others that they are brave, strong men. 

Those of us who are strong people, who have integrity and dignity, we have no need to kill anything. We certainly have no need to use a dead animal as a trophy. Our sense of self worth is not tied up in what people think of us. 

Trophy hunters think it proves to the world that they are real "warriors" and "hunters" when they have a dead animal on display.
Bear 148 was in a new territory and probably a little lost. The spring bear hunt involves killing a really hungry bear who comes to food the hunter put out for it. The word hero and brave do not leap to mind. They are really very sad excuses for people, unfortunately they also have guns.