 |
| "As the Grizzly teaches us; a lack of love, understanding and compassion creates a creature to be feared, but a shift in our emotional response creates a creature to be enjoyed." - Charlie Russell |
Charlie Russell, Letter to the Editor - What good would it be to report a poacher in Alberta concerning a grizzly bear when you have a bear response team who will always go to bat for the shooter and never for the bear? When the definition of aggressive encounter is a bear that even just walks toward you, and the province is continually trying to build a case to reopen hunting of grizzly, I would hazard a guess that this bear was needlessly shot.
Related link: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120322100415.htm
If by chance it was really being aggressive, it would be because it has experienced nothing but aggression from bear managers and it could accurately assume that any encounter with people is going to be brutal, so why not try to strike first if you have a good reason? In this case the reason was a dead deer he was trying to get a very important meal from, having not eaten for six months. Isn’t it enough that they are waking up to our clear cutting the Castle River drainage that is so important to our beleaguered bears, without being shot too?
I have spent my life studying how to get along with these animals and I can tell you that it doesn’t take very much effort. I can tell you for sure that any discord we have is caused by us and is not the grizzlies fault. I know that because I spent 12 years living with about 400 of them in a place where all they ever received from me and my assistants was considerate behavior towards them. For many years this was the only experience that they had to judge humans by and the results were spectacular. There was a core group that after a while we could not get hurt by them because they so generously gave you the benefit of any doubt, even if you fell over them in the dark, which happened occasionally because they would sleep so close to my cabin.
My study was about what grizzlies were capable of if they liked people and could trust us, but it has been misconstrued as a demonstration of how people should behave around bears. I am the first to tell everyone that we must be very careful around bears who have been managed out of fear, and all of our bears are managed that way, even in our national parks. Please carry bear spray when you are in bear county because the bear you might meet will probably be suspicious of your motives.
Charlie Russell -Director Castle Crown Coalition
This is a rare case where the shooter is believed. Most times when a shooter is defending themselves, they are harassed by radical envioronmentalists and media. Landowners and hunters must be able to defend themselves from the growing number of bears in this corner of the province.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, a comment that was just submitted was not civil and has therefore not been published. The person commenting is encouraged to do so again, minus the uncivil tone. There are plenty of places on the internet where respectful discourse is not enforced. This isn't one of them.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully, Editor
Shooters harassed ? Bears get killed because they look for food in human areas because their habitat is destroyed or taken over and then of course a hunter can only talk about him being harassed.. typical.Thats exactly what is wrong with hunters, their attitude that they have the right to anything, and then play the victim, instead of finding better ways for the bears, relocating them for instance.Why is that never a solution ? This bear did not need to be killed !
ReplyDeleteSo you only let posts through of hunters, very fair id say.....sheesh.
ReplyDeleteNot true at all. I do however disallow comments that are uncivil, as we clearly state. That includes comments that end with statements to the effect of "anyone who disagrees with me has no possible grounds to" etc. As I said, this isn't that kind of site. If you really think we deliberately prevent environmentalist pro-grizzly points of view on this web site you should perhaps make an effort to notice the many letters and articles we have published that dispel that notion. In fact, start with this very letter that you are commenting on.
DeleteAlso, be aware that we publish comments when we can. Much of the time we're actually out there getting the story. We're not sitting here desperately awaiting each missive.
When people are being aggressive can we shoot them. No, so don't shoot the bears. Give them their space and lets learn to live with them. Bears and other wildlife have just as much right to this earth as we do.
ReplyDeleteCharlie is right, i have had encounters with bears here at my farm in BC. Not once did i approach them with the intent to harm them and yes i used to hunt so don,t say i,m some bear loving nut job please.
ReplyDeleteA mother griz and her two cubs just out after the winter, found a 50 lb. bag of dog food out back at a neighbors.
She called me asked if she should call the game wardens, i told her that they,ll kill the bears, i went over i had my rifle of course, her german shepherd was running in circles barking like crazy, i called him over and settled him down.
Momma was standing straight cubs doing the same on either side of her,i talked to them motioned them to go they dropped down on all fours and stood looking at me and the dog just standing there.
I motioned again said go the mother looked at me for what seemed like the longest while so intently, turned and walked back into the bush with her cubs.
Just before she disappeared into the bush she turned and looked at me again, and i,ll never forget the look in her eyes.
My hunting days are over, if i was ever to think about hunting again, it would be with a camera, where i would hope to someday be able to catch that look that mother bear gave me that day.
We have so much to learn about our world and the animal we share this planet with. It saddens me when i see they animals destroyed like this.
I really have to wonder who the really intelligent beings on this ole rock are, i,m not very sure it is mankind anymore.
Thanks for the bears enjoy them before we destroy them all too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there will be so many "pro" grizzly comments when someones innocent grandfather or child is killed by a bear ?
ReplyDeleteI feel many of the commentors are overlooking the fact that the bear charged because it suits their argument. The Landowner had to make a split second decision, the bears life or my own. I fully respect Mr. Russell's views, but the landowner was put in a life or death situation. The bear charged him, and a healthy adult griz can close a 18m gap extremely fast. I would have done the same thing. It is a shame that a beautiful animal had to lose its life but what would you do in the same situation, stand there and die a horrible death? Common people, come back to reality. Maybe we should just abandon all human settlement near Grizzly bear habitat and refuse entry to anyone. Hell, lets shut down the highways through the pass, a bear might get hit by a car...
ReplyDeletewell said every situation is different, If you had a unprovoked bear charge you there is not much else you can do you have split second to decide before he is on you,
ReplyDelete