What’s New

The bears are back

They're waking up from hibernation and are being sighted in urban and rural areas across North America. At this time of year, there is very little natural bear food available, other than grass. Bears are likely to be found grazing in parks, on golf courses and in any other green spaces they can find. When bears first emerge they are not nearly as brazen as they were in the fall. It takes time to re-habituate to people and become comfortable in urban spaces. It's a perfect opportunity to pay particular attention to your garbage and other backyard attractants. Start the year off fresh and don't let bears establish bad habits that last all season long.

Bear shot in N.W.T. was grizzly-polar hybrid

It could be first 2nd generation hybrid found in wild. Friday, April 30, 2010 David Kuptana, an Inuvialuit hunter, shot and killed a rare hybrid grizzly-polar bear "grolar bear" on April 8th - the result of a female grizzly-polar hybrid mating with a male grizzly bear. It's reported that due to climate change lots of organisms - marine mammals in particular - are interbreeding, including harp and hooded seals, and beluga whales with narwhals. Read more.

Please DO Feed the Bears, Biologist Says?

National Geographic News wrote about Dr. Lynn Rogers' diversionary feeding program to manage bears in poor natural food years. The article has some very useful information in it, but it begs the question as to why many experts support massive baiting programs to hunt bears yet oppose baiting bears to prevent human bear conflicts during food failures. Read the National Geographic article.

Review Dr. Rogers' original paper.

Black bears are showing up in urban areas where they haven't been seen before

London, Ontario, Canada. Early one morning there was a flurry of news reports and radio interviews when a young male black bear was seen by a member of the public and shortly thereafter shot by the City of London, Ontario police. The province has an excellent Bear Wise program but as this is the first time, in living memory, that the City has seen a bear - he was killed. The letters to the editor were overwhelmingly opposed to the killing. Read more the article: Why animal was shot dead. Note: on the left side of the screen, you can access a range of other articles.

Bits 'n Bites

Attention all Bear Managers

The Get Bear Smart Society has released the newly revised version of Responding to Human-Bear Conflict: A Guide to Non-lethal Bear Management Techniques including our new Management Action Chart. Download it now!

Lily Update

Lily and her cub Hope’s story continues to unfold on video. Discover interesting facts about bears and find out more about how cubs grow and learn. There's so many questions......How do male bears interact with mothers and their cubs? Are Black bears vulnerable to predators such as wolves and coyotes? What is the survival rate for new cubs? How do hibernating bears nurse cubs? Where do they get the nutrients? Get the answers to those questions and more online.

Bear Smart Buy of the Month

Grizzly Manifesto

In this well-researched and well-written book, Calgary-based author Jeff Gailus examines the challenges facing grizzly populations in Canada and the United States. He documents years of experience with bureaucrats and politicians and more than a few encounters with grizzlies, concluding that the bears' future is particularly bleak in Alberta, where -- despite the repeated warnings of biologists -- the government has refused to come to the Great Bear's rescue. Readings are scheduled for Calgary (May 20), Canmore (May 25), Edmonton (May 27), Vancouver (TBD) and Whistler (TBD). Click here for more information. Listen to Grizzly Gailus on CBC's The Current. Follow him on Facebook.

In this edition:

• What's New
• Bits 'n Bites
• Bear Smart Buy of the Month