Bears // Current

Robot Polar Bears Invade St. Louis Zoo

Instead of replacing the St. Louis Zoo's deceased polar bears with live ones, zoo... more

pjacobs51
added this
1 day ago
|
5 comments

Jill Greenberg Opening & Book Signing This Saturday From 7-9PM

Jill Greenberg Opening & Book Signing This Saturday From 7-9PM At Guy Hepner

guyhepner
added this
5 days ago
|
0 comments

Islamophobic bear kills two jihadists in Kashmir

The UN will no doubt be opening a commission on "Islamophobia" among bears forthwith.... more

bielski
added this
19 days ago
|
8 comments

Study Says Hungry Yosemite Bears Prefer Minivans

Here's a word of warning from someone who's seen a rental car or two ripped up in his... more

knews121
added this
29 days ago
|
5 comments

YouTube's Dumbest Inventions

The lights went out on Thomas Edison 78 years ago this week, but luckily there are... more

Brett_Erlich
added this
1 month ago
|
25 comments

infoMania: Best clips from the week of 10.22.09

Tyra brings us the first televised colonic. After getting duped into talking balloon... more

infoMania
added this
1 month ago
|
28 comments

Legalize Gay!

In this episode: Whining, Random Musical Interludes, Dead Bears at Day Care, Racism,... more

asherp
added this
1 month ago
|
11 comments

Yosemite Bears Prefer Minivans for Snack Attacks

When it comes to snack time, black bears in Yosemite National Park have a favorite... more

vincius
added this
1 month ago
|
1 comment

The Placenta Teddy Bear - Teddy YUCKspin?

I've heard lots of stories about people burying placentas under trees and even eating... more

burukku16
added this
1 month ago
|
4 comments

"you always want to fight back with a black bear"

Aspen police report a nearly tenfold increase in the number of bear sightings in town.... more

akassan
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

Grizzly bear decline alarms conservationists in Canada

A furious row has erupted in Canada with conservationists desperately lobbying the government to suspend the annual bear-hunting season following reports of a sudden drop in the numbers of wild bears spotted on salmon streams and key coastal areas where they would normally be feeding.

The government has promised to order a count of bears, but not until after this year's autumn trophy hunts have taken place. It has enraged ecology groups which say that a dearth of salmon stocks may be responsible for many bears starving in their dens during hibernation. The female grizzlies have their cubs during winter after gorging themselves in September on the fish fats that sustain them through the following months.

"I've never seen bears hungry in the fall before, but last year they were starving," said British Columbian wildlife guide and photographer Doug Neasloss. "I noticed in the spring there weren't as many bears coming out, but I felt it was premature to jump to conclusions." But now, he said, "there just aren't any bears. It's scary."

It was the same story, he said, from other guides over 16 rivers where once they would have been encountering dozens of grizzly bears. "There has been a huge drop in numbers. I've never experienced anything this bad." Reports from stream walkers, who monitor salmon streams across the vast territories, have been consistent, according to the conservation group Pacific Wild – no bears, and more worryingly, no bear cubs.

In one river alone, the Fraser on Canada's west coast, 10 million sockeye salmon were expected back to spawn there this summer. Only one million turned up. Canada's Ministry of Environment announced in July that it would ban hunting of grizzly bears on an additional 470,000 hectares, bringing the total protected area for grizzlies and black bears to 1.9 million hectares.

The news came after Jane Goodall, the renowned wildlife campaigner, added her voice to the campaign against the hunts, which are for trophies, not meat.

A report released last week showed species numbers to have fallen dramatically in the province of Alberta, where local officials have decided to suspend the annual hunting season despite intense lobbying from hunters. "There's no question that bears are worse off now than 20 years ago – both in numbers and range," said Jim Pissot, of the group Defenders of Wildlife.A furious row has erupted in Canada with conservationists desperately lobbying the... more