Lions and Tigers and.....what's a Bear?

Lions and Tigers and.....what's a Bear?

By : Austine DeLos Santos | Published Nov. 29, 2016

"Hey Jerry, maybe if I wave hello and look cute they won't hurt us. Hey humans!"

  When I was a young child I used to have a stuffed teddy bear that never left my side. It was one of my favorite toys. I would not be surprised if even today, there are children all over the world whose best companion is a stuffed bear. While I had my bear, I also had a stuffed triceratops that was another favorite of mine. From a young age I was told that between the two toys only one of them still existed while the other died out a long time ago.   

   Now, imagine a future where you gave a child a bear toy and had to explain that grizzly bears were the animals that went extinct. While you and I are fortunate enough to live in a world where bears are living, future generations may not have this chance. You might ask, “That’s not going to happen to them. Bears are all over the forest, right?” Well, a future where bears become nonexistent is unfortunately a lot more likely than you think. If not preserved, the grizzly bear is a prime example of another animal in history that will only be told through stories and pictures. 

     Grizzly bears, which are scientifically known as Ursus arctos horribilis, gained their title through the “grizzled” look that the white tips on their back and shoulders give them (Defender of Wildlife, 2016). The range of the grizzly bear populations reach out from North America to much of the Eastern European areas. However, we will focus on the populations of grizzly bears found in the lower 48 states of Northern America as these are the populations who are being threatened the most. These strong and massive creatures are known for inhabiting the forests, and subalpine meadows, but they were once common in Mexico, California, Ohio and the Great Plains. However, human activity and growth pushed these bear populations to secluded mountains and forests where human interaction was minimal.   

     

"Alright, Frank. You wave hi and I'll hold on to our habitat."  

What’s threatening them?

     According to the Defenders of Wildlife, grizzly bear populations in North America used to have a range of 50,000. However, the ultimate destruction of the grizzly bear population has been human conflict, habitat destruction, and climate change which has reduced the species from about 98 percent of it’s original range. The most significant threats being human involvement and habitat loss which have deterred the long term recovery for the grizzly bear population. An estimated 1,800 grizzly bears are what remain in the lower 48 states. 

Little bear : "Hey, mama. You think they'll help us?"
Mama bear : "Let's hope so."

How’re they being helped and how can I help?

The population of grizzly bears residing in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have actually been taken off the list of threatened species due to the tireless efforts of the National Wildlife Federation’s conservation strategy (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2016). What used to be a population of 136 back in 1975 has now increased to an estimate of 717 bears that were last recorded in 2015!  The conservation strategy draft made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service outlined several points to envision a better further for the grizzlies in Yellowstone : 

- Creating a secure area that allows the grizzly bear population to recover with maintained habitat conditions.

- Allowing the grizzly bears to expand into areas that are socially acceptable and biologically compatible. 

- Expand public information and increase educational efforts on the importance of grizzly bears. 

- Regulate grizzly bears for hunting when and where it is appropriate. 

If the Yellowstone grizzlies can make an epic turnaround then all grizzly populations have the possibility to recover as well! The same energy and dedication needs to be put into bringing back the threatened populations in the states of Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming. Now, after all this talk about helping the grizzlies I bet you’re wondering “How can I make a difference? What can I actually do to help bring these beautiful bears back?”

http://www.shopnwf.org/Adoption-Center/Adopt-a-Grizzly-Bear/index.cat

Click the link above and go adopt a grizzly bear!! Symbolically, of course. These incredible animals are meant to live in the wild and should only live as such. By symbolically adopting a grizzly you’re helping with the expenses that go into educating people, like you and me, about the importance of grizzly bears and how we can coexist with them. Education is just as important as the action! The more you know about them, the more you can inform others and can create a dialogue on how we can protect them. From awareness stems action, so let’s start with the educational foundation first and foremost. 

Pictures in order of appearance:

https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/bear1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1
http://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=7642

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/assets/img/species/mammals/GrizzlyBearRobinSilver.jpg

http://cdn.pcwallart.com/images/baby-grizzly-bears-wallpaper-3.jpg

Work Cited

"Basic Facts About Grizzly Bears." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

"Grizzly Bear - National Wildlife Federation." National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016

"Grizzly Bear." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016

United States. National Park Service. "Grizzly Bear Ecology." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.