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Breaking News
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, The Associated Press: PULLMAN, Wash. - Grizzly bears love pastries, can be 50 percent body fat and spend nearly half the year sleeping.
Yet the hibernating bears don't suffer heart attacks, have no hardening of the arteries, no fatty deposits or any circulation issues, said Charles Robbins, director of the Washington State University bear research center.
Kevin Heimbigner, Chinook Observer: Tragically, a fed bear is a dead bear," Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife bear and cougar expert Rich Beausoleil said Thursday as he worked on the largest bear removal operation in state history off Stackpole Road northwest of Oysterville. "This was the worst case I've seen in my career."
A record 10 black bears were removed from property about a mile north of Joe Johns Road and on Stackpole where a couple had been feeding bears "up to $4,000 of dog food per year" from information obtained by WDFW. The offending parties "are now cooperating fully" according to WDFW enforcement officer Patrick Anderson, who assisted Beausoleil with removing seven adults and three cubs. WDFW Lt. Dan Chadwick also helped with the operation.
Dave Mabell, Lethbridge Herald: It's a new plan, but an Alberta environmental group says it's based on old, logging-oriented thinking.
The provincial government released a new forest management plan for southwestern Alberta this week, allowing loggers to cut more of the older timber that dominates the Crowsnest Pass region.
Salt Lake Tribune: JACKSON, Wyo.
Ten grizzly bear deaths have been documented in the Yellowstone ecosystem so far this year, a rate comparable to past years. One other grizzly death is suspected. Of the 11 deaths, humans caused eight. The count was seven at this time last year and 13 at this point in 2008.
David Burke, Whistler Question : An adult male black bear that had broken into at least two homes in Whistler to access food has been destroyed after being determined to have been a public safety threat.
The bear, known to local bear experts as Parker, was shot and killed after being caught in a culvert trap early Wednesday (July 14), Chris Doyle of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said.
Jennifer Miller, Whistler Question : There has been an increase in black bear activity and human-bear conflicts in Whistler over the past couple of weeks, with conservation officers having tried unsuccessfully to trap a bear that’s believed to be responsible for at least two home break-ins.
Conservation Officer Chris Doyle said the same bear is believed to have broken into two homes in the Alta Vista/Blueberry area on Monday (July 12). In one incident, someone was home when the bear got in, and the occupant escaped out a window while the bear gained access to food in the house, he said.
Michael Allen, Pique Newsmagazine : Whistler Mountain resident mother black bear Brownie with one of two six-month-old cubs grazing up through a clover patch. Six females have produced 11 cubs in the ski area with a 100 per cent survival rate so far.
Andrew Mitchell, Pique Newsmagazine: The Whistler RCMP are asking all residents - but especially residents living in Blueberry, Alta Vista and Brio - to lock their doors and not leave any food or garbage laying around. They believe the same bear may have broken into at least two houses last week, opening unlocked doors to gain entry.
KARL PUCKETT • Tribune Staff Writer: A young grizzly, dubbed "Loma Bear" for its historic journey east onto the prairie last summer, was captured again Monday on the plains of Chouteau County, this time north of Carter.
"Because he's been there before, I think we could probably say it's part of his home range," said Mike Madel, a grizzly bear management specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Brian Murray, The Star-Ledger: TRENTON — Before the state approved its last bear hunt in 2005, hundreds of farmers, homeowners, animal rights protesters and hunters voiced their opinions in a final, raucous hearing that had to be moved to the State Museum auditorium in Trenton to accommodate the crowd.
The scene was far different today, when the state Fish and Game Council voted unanimously — and with considerably less fanfare — to recommend a six-day bear hunt for northwest New Jersey in December.
Jimmy Bellamy, Forum Communications Co. : An Ely black bear and her cub have reunited after 1-1/2 months apart.
Researchers Sue Mansfield and Lynn Rogers of the North American Bear Center confirmed Monday that Lily and her 5-month-old cub, Hope, reunited Sunday after the mother wandered into the cub's area.
The two were discovered together Monday by Mansfield, who has been videotaping mother and cub and recording their behavior. Mansfield and Rogers estimate that the bears have been together since 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Andy Ivens, The Province: Too many black bears are being killed in North Shore neighbourhoods because they see our garbage as an ursine smorgasbord.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart is fed up and is calling for fines of up to $10,000 for brazen citizens who flout bear-aware bylaws, some of which currently impose fines as low as $500.
Maria Spitale-Leisk, BC Local News: Conservation officers had their hands full on Sunday (July 11) afternoon, responding to two consecutive calls involving bears that were overly habituated to humans.
In one of the cases, the bear was put down after "it stood on its hind legs and swatted" at an RCMP member, said Lower Mainland conservation officer, Alexandre Desjardins.
Angus M. Thuermer Jr., Jackson Hole Daily: A grizzly who grew up in front of hundreds of Grand Teton National Park visitors has been relocated to his birthplace after killing cattle south of Jackson.
Biologists released grizzly bear No. 587 in the Pilgrim Creek drainage in Grand Teton on July 4, a day after he was captured. The release site was along a short road that is closed to the public, Grand Teton Senior Wildlife Biologist Steve Cain said.
Tyler Nord, Alaska Dispatch: We started in Hope and were six miles in on the Resurrection Pass Trail. Kimi was in front with Kobi right behind her, followed by Kyle and myself. We were rounding a corner, and as I looked up Kimi was heading back our way. Ahead of us on the trail were a grizzly bear mama and her two cubs.
Mama started to charge us, and as she was running at us Kobi charged her, barking and growling up a storm. The bear stopped charging and was growling at Kobi, who was holding his ground several feet away. After a few seconds the bear went after Kobi, and he bolted around her and into the bushes, heading away from us. Mama chased, which gave us a few extra seconds of getaway time.
Jordan Schaul, NatGeo Newswatch: Daily reports and aerial footage of the direct impact of the oil spill on marine ecosystems draws anger, outrage, sadness and much hopelessness among those of us removed, but tuned into the news updates coming out of the Gulf Coast region.
Certainly, much more heightened emotion is elicited among those directly affected by the fallout of this ecological catastrophe. But floating carcasses of bottlenose dolphins, growing numbers of oiled brown pelicans, northern gannets and sea turtles, and concerns over the health of shellfish and pelagic fisheries impress upon us how broad in scope and real this ecological tragedy is. And it is all the result of a single off-shore oil leak.
Chris Genovali, The Huffington Post: When British Columbia Conservation Officer Andrew Anaka learned that a Bella Coola Valley resident was threatening to "pop" a grizzly bear mother and her three cubs for stealing salmon off his deck, Anaka advised the man to instead remove his salmon. He said the family of bears should only be shot if they were an imminent threat. The resident did not remove the salmon and later shot all four bears.
Gabriel Zarate, Nunatiaq Online : Two Nunavut communities will be test sites for polar bear-proof steel food caches.
Sarah Medill, the Department of Environment’s specialist on polar bear deterrents, said the department has purchased several steel garbage bins for use as containers for food caches on the land.
Lori Homstol, Whistler Question: Whistler is going for Bear Smart Community status! This has been a long time in the making. Since 2005, when we started researching human-bear conflict in Whistler, we’ve seen the municipality take big strides forward to do their part in reducing conflicts between bears and humans.
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