Yellowstone Grizzlies Win Reprieve From Trophy Hunt as Court Restores Endangered Species Protections
09 July
Animals
A grizzly bear sow with cub in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Danita Delimont / Gallo Images / Getty Images Plus
Grizzly bears in Wyoming and Idaho won't be subject to a trophy hunt thanks to a federal court decision Wednesday upholding endangered species protections for these iconic animals.
<p>The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bears-yellowstone-endangered-species-2607784220.html" target="_self">2018 decision</a> from the Montana District Court reinstating protections for Yellowstone area grizzly bears after the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bears-yellowstone-2446382005.html" target="_self"> stripped them of protections</a> in 2017. Wyoming and Idaho then announced plans to hunt the animals for the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bear-hunt-wyoming-2571671329.html" target="_self">first time in more than 40 years</a>.</p><p>"This is a tremendous victory for all who cherish Yellowstone's grizzly bears and for those who've worked to ensure they're protected under the Endangered Species Act," <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) attorney Andrea Zaccardi <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/appeals-court-victory-maintains-protections-yellowstone-grizzlies-2020-07-08/" target="_blank">said in a press release</a>. "Grizzlies still have a long way to go before recovery. Hunting these beautiful animals around America's most treasured <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-parks" target="_self">national park</a> should never again be an option."</p>
<div id="a1a10" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd14d33bb684f0237ea63e050dd997da"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280956331550261258" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The 9th Circuit just upheld a 2018 federal ruling that the Trump administration violated the Endangered Species Act… https://t.co/0AzXqRTLrO</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/1280956331550261258">1594238763.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>CBD joined the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> and the <a href="https://www.npca.org/" target="_blank">National Parks Conservation Association</a> in suing to reinstate protections for the bears. The plaintiffs were represented by <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a>, according to a <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2020/9th-circuit-upholds-endangered-species-protections-for-yellowstone-grizzlies" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services delisted Yellowstone area grizzlies in 2017, in a decision that impacted around 700 bears in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/506446-court-upholds-protections-for-yellowstone-grizzly-bears" target="_blank">The Hill</a>. Those who supported the move said that the bears' population as well as successful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts and state policies justified the move. Then Idaho and Wyoming said they would allow up to 23 bears to be hunted and killed outside of Yellowstone National Park, according to CBD.</p><p>But the Montana court ruled that the FWS did not consider the impact of delisting on a remnant population and did not use the best available <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/science/" target="_self">science</a> when making its decision, according to <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/grizzlies-saved-ninth-circuit-stops-yellowstone-trophy-hunt/amp/" target="_blank">Courthouse News Service</a>, and the Ninth Circuit agreed.</p>
<p>Specifically, the court found that FWS did not take into account how delisting and trophy hunting would impact the genetic diversity of Yellowstone grizzlies.</p><p>"Because the 2017 rule's conclusion that genetic health no longer poses a threat to the Yellowstone grizzly is without scientific basis, this conclusion is arbitrary and capricious," U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder wrote.</p><p>The court ordered the FWS to reconsider its decision with a view towards how delisting would impact a remnant population and genetic diversity.</p><p>"The importance of this court ruling for the grizzly bears found in our most iconic national parks cannot be overstated," Northern Rockies Associate Director for the National Parks Conservation Association Stephanie Adams said in the Earthjustice press release. "This decision sets the stage for practical, science-based and on-the-ground collaboration to ensure a healthy future for grizzlies in Grand Teton, Yellowstone and beyond. And now, communities can continue their work to create opportunities to safely connect the grizzly bears of Yellowstone and Glacier."</p>
<div id="a6f0e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7e4ff4c6e38a577c6285e8596d17696"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280967734965264386" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">VICTORY: Today, a circuit court upheld the district court's opinion reinstating Endangered Species Act protections… https://t.co/wtdOhUcOiF</div> — National Parks Conservation Association (@National Parks Conservation Association)<a href="https://twitter.com/NPCA/statuses/1280967734965264386">1594241481.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Not everyone was happy with the decision, however.</p><p>"Wyoming — not an activist court — should determine how the bear is managed. The state has a strong, science-based management plan and it should be given a chance to succeed," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement reported by The Hill.</p><p>FWS did not return requests for comment from either The Hill or Courthouse News Service.</p><p>Grizzly bears once roamed across North America and the Western U.S., but now mostly live in Alaska. Of around 55,000 total U.S. bears, 1,500 live in the lower 48 states, most of them in the Yellowstone area, according to Courthouse News Service.</p>
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Wolf pups with their mother at their den site. Design Pics / Getty Images
In another reversal of Obama-era regulations, the Trump administration is having the National Park Service rescind a 2015 order that protected bears and wolves within protected lands.
<p>The new rule, remarkable in its cruelty, will allow hunters to shoot bears, wolves, along with their cubs and pups while the animals are in their dens in the popular Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. It also puts ends a ban on some nefarious practices like luring bears with doughnuts, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/alaska-bears-wolves-trump-rules-hunters" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Jesse Prentice-Dunn, policy director for the Center for Western Priorities, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/alaska-bears-wolves-trump-rules-hunters" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> that the rule change is "amazingly cruel" and said it was "just the latest in a string of efforts to reduce protections for America's wildlife at the behest of oil companies and trophy hunters."</p>
<p>The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued separate statements that their actions are designed to align federal and state law, according to the <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2020/05/21/trump-administration-moves-to-ease-rules-for-hunting-bears-and-wolves-on-federal-lands-in-alaska/" target="_blank">Anchorage Daily News</a>. The National Park Service manages 10 preserves in the state, including Denali National Park and Preserve. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge lies west of the park.</p><p>NPS Alaska spokesperson Pete Christian told <a href="https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/05/21/national-park-service-rule-change-puts-state-back-in-charge-of-wildlife-management-in-preserves/" target="_blank">Alaska Public Media</a> that although practices like killing bears and wolves in dens go against the Park Service's mission, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which created or expanded many of Alaska's national preserves, grants the state management authority.</p>
<p>"It supercedes, to some extent, the NPS Organic Act and some of our regular management policies, and so the parks up here were designed to have preserve units in them which allow for hunting and trapping as per state law," Christian said.</p><p>The Park Service decision to defer to the state is the latest move in a legal conflict around who has ultimate authority over the protected lands. The conflict dates back to 2015, when the Obama administration initially banned certain state-permitted predator harvests on Alaska's preserve lands, as <a href="https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/05/21/national-park-service-rule-change-puts-state-back-in-charge-of-wildlife-management-in-preserves/" target="_blank">Alaska Public Media</a> reported.</p>
<p>While the number of hunters that will actually plow ahead into the national preserve to hunt bears and wolves in their dens is probably quite small, the spirit of the practice is extreme and inconsistent with the values of the national preserve, according to Pat Lavin with the Defenders of Wildlife in Anchorage who spoke to <a href="https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/05/21/national-park-service-rule-change-puts-state-back-in-charge-of-wildlife-management-in-preserves/" target="_blank">Alaska Public Media</a>.</p><p>"The Trump administration has shockingly reached a new low in its treatment of wildlife," Defenders of Wildlife President Jamie Rappaport Clark said, as the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/alaska-increase-hunting-trapping-1.5581668" target="_blank">CBC</a> reported. "Allowing the killing of bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens is barbaric and inhumane."</p><p>The new rule also allows hunters to shoot caribou from traveling motorboats and to kill swimming caribou, according to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/alaska-increase-hunting-trapping-1.5581668" target="_blank">CBC</a>.</p><p>As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/alaska-bears-wolves-trump-rules-hunters" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> noted, the move is part and parcel with a pattern from Trump's Department of the Interior, which has consistently sought to expand access to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands">public lands</a> to hunters and fossil fuel companies. Last month, it proposed expanding public hunting and fishing access by more than 2.3 million acres on 97 national wildlife refuges and nine national fish hatcheries.</p>
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A black bear in Yosemite National Park in 2009. torhutchins / Flickr
Wild bears in Yosemite National Park are coming out of the woodwork in what park officials are calling a "party" following the park's March 20 closure in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
<p>The wildly popular park is visited by millions of people every year, and at the same time hundreds of bears call the Rhode Island-sized park home, said Ranger Katie, a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> biologist who has worked with black bears in Yosemite National Park for more than a decade, in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/YosemiteNPS/videos/664884761011559/" target="_blank">Facebook live streaming</a> over the weekend.</p><p>"For the most part, I think [the bears] are having a party," said Ranger Katie. "This time of year is difficult for the animals here. There can be literally walls of cars, stop-and-go traffic, or people in the park."</p>
Yosemite National Park on Facebook Watch
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0dd4605ce24caeb744d6cfb8439d6cc9"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/YosemiteNPS/videos/664884761011559/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>American black bears can weigh between 300 and 500 pounds and seeing them can "evoke excitement, awe, and fear," <a href="file:///C:/Users/admin/Desktop/Madison%20Dap,%20LLC/Ecowatch/bears%20usually%20have%20to%20go%20through%20narrow%20corridors%20to%20get%20form%20place%20to%20place%20in%20the%20park" target="_blank">writes</a> the National Park Service. Ranger Katie is a part of the park's <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/bear-management.htm" target="_blank">human-bear management program, whose role is to mitigate conflict between humans and bears</a>. In the video, the park ranger uses a tracking device to show a young male bear heading towards the visitor's center, which would normally be packed with people during the warm, sunny spring.</p><p>A video shared to Instagram by the park shows a black bear walking in an area across from Yosemite Village, an area of the park normally packed with people.</p>
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<p>"It could be said that spring, summer, and fall are just one big meal to a black bear. If that's the case, then grass is a bear's favorite springtime appetizer," wrote the park. "Bears have been active in Yosemite Valley lately, and they've been busy grazing on fresh spring grass."</p>
<p>Any animal growing up in the pack will see hundreds – even thousands – of humans within its first year of life, according to the park service. Ensuring that animals do not become too comfortable around humans is an essential part of staff duties year-round by making sure that food is stored properly and people remain at least 50 years away from animals.</p><p>"Bears are these amazingly powerful and intelligent animals that we make our homes alongside. Because they have those characteristics and they're very food-motivated, bears can wrack up a huge amount of property damage or even injure somebody in their pursuit of food," said the biologist. Identified bears who have developed a taste for human food or are habituated will be captured, tagged and outfitted with a transmitter for future observations.</p><p>A worker at Yosemite's <a href="https://www.yosemite.com/lodging/hotels/the-ahwahnee-hotel/" target="_blank">Ahwahnee Hotel</a> told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-13/yosemite-national-park-closed-wildlife-waterfalls-muir" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a> that not only has the bear population "quadrupled," but that he and his coworkers have also seen more coyotes and bobcats near their living quarters.</p><p>"It's not like they aren't usually here," said Dane Peterson. "It's that they usually hang back at the edges, or move in the shadows."</p><p>Ranger Katie says that the meandering bears could be an issue when people return to the park. Bears that live in Yosemite Valley "key in" on triggers of people being around and tend to start to avoid places when humans become more frequent. It will take a "little bit of a learning curve," she adds, and newer bears will be on a "steep learning curve about where they can be and when."</p>
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Black bear cubs. Max Pixel
Two Alaska hunters will face jail time and other penalties after fatally shooting a denning black bear sow in front of her two "shrieking" cubs, and then shooting the newborns dead.
Wasilla resident Andrew Renner was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended, a fine of $20,000 with $11,000 suspended and the forfeiture of his 22' Sea Sport ocean boat and trailer, 2012 GMC Sierra pickup truck, two rifles, two handguns, two iPhones, and two sets of backcountry skis that were used in the offenses, according to a press release from Alaska's Department of Law. His hunting license was revoked for 10 years.
<p>
Owen Renner, Andrew's son, was sentenced to suspended jail time, community service and will be required to take a hunters safety course. His hunting license was suspended for two years.
</p><p>
The men will also have to pay $1,800 in restitution, the amount set by statute for killing black bears.
</p><p>
The defendants were sentenced Tuesday at the Anchorage District Court. The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Aaron Peterson, <a href="http://www.law.state.ak.us/press/releases/2019/012319-Renner.html" target="_blank">told the court</a> that this was "the most egregious bear cub poaching case his office has ever seen" and urged the court to impose a sentence to dissuade others from committing similar offenses in the future.
</p><p>
<span></span>The Renners <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/alaska-hunters-charged-with-killing-bears-2594586783.html" target="_blank">made headlines</a> in August after they were charged with several felony and misdemeanor crimes for shooting and killing the mother bear and the two newborns in April on an island in Prince William Sound.
</p><p>
<span></span>They tried to cover up their actions but did not realize the bears were part of an observation program by the U.S. Forest Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The den was monitored by motion-activated camera, meaning the slayings were caught on video and audio.
</p><p>
The younger Renner can even be heard saying, "they'll never be able to link it to us," according to court documents <a href="http://www.ktva.com/story/38841443/2-accused-of-illegal-black-bear-kills-caught-on-video" target="_blank">obtained by KTVA</a>.
</p><p>
According to Alaska's Department of Law, the recordings show the Renners skiing to a remote den. Owen Renner fires at least two shots at the denning sow. Not long after the fatal shots, the newborn cubs start "shrieking" and the elder Renner fires several shots, killing the young bears. The men then butchered the mother's body, placed it in game bags and skied away.
</p><p>
Two days later, the father and son return to the site to collect the cub carcasses in a small transparent bag and skied away with the poached cubs in their possession. Two weeks later, Andrew Renner presented the sow's carcass to the state's wildlife agency and lied that he, not his son, killed the bear. He also failed to report an "illegal take."
</p><p>
Both father and son pleaded guilty in November to charges related to the incident.
</p><p>
"Protection of natural resources in this state is of paramount importance," Peterson said in the press release. "By protecting the wildlife and ensuring a biologically appropriate number of animals are present across any given location, we protect the very culture of Alaska. But without active game management, vigorous enforcement of the regulations, and significant sentencings for wildlife violators, the big game in Alaska can be wiped out—and the sport, subsistence, and cultural traditions of Alaskans gone with them."
</p><p>
"The defendant, and anyone else that would pursue game in our state, should be on notice that killing a sow with cubs and then poaching the cubs to cover it up, will result in a significant jail term and loss of hunting privileges," he continued. "People must know that poachers will be required to pay large fines and restitution for the illegal killing of the animals and that the vehicles, boat, planes, and instrumentalities used in wildlife crimes will be forfeited. These are the sentencing provisions that will let people know that Alaska does not tolerate poaching."
</p>
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Cinder the bear killed
Cinder, an orphaned bear cub that was severely burned but had remarkably survived after one of the worst recorded wildfires in Washington state history was found dead, wildlife officials recently confirmed to news outlets.
She was likely shot and killed in October 2017 by a hunter, according to the Methow Valley News and a Facebook post by the Idaho Black Bear Rehab, where the famous black bear was treated.
<p>
The young bear was originally found under a horse trailer two weeks after the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire devastated Methow Valley. Cinder weighed only 34 pounds and was suffering from third-degree burns on all four paws. The burns were so severe she had to crawl on her elbows to get around.
</p>
<p>
<span></span>After nearly a year of treatment at centers in California and Idaho and getting up to 124 pounds, she was set free in the mountains north of Leavenworth, Washington.
</p>
<p>
Cinder was collared with a tracking device but it stopped transmitting in October 2017, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife bear and cougar specialist Rich Beausoleil explained to Methow Valley News. The wildlife team thought the collar stopped working because Cinder was denning during the winter. A team set out to find Cinder's den this September, but instead they found her remains not far from her release location. She was about 5 years old.
</p>
<p>
"Unfortunately, instead of finding a den, we found Cinder's skeletal remains. It appears that she was killed in October 2017 by a hunter, who cut the collar, rendering it inoperable, and left it at the site," Beausoleil told the publication.
</p>
<p>
Beausoleil told
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cinder-the-bear-wildfire-killed-by-hunter-washington-california-idaho-rich-beausoleil/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6a&linkId=61248244" target="_blank">CBS News</a> that Cinder's story was an inspiration for Washington residents who suffered from the massive fire.
</p>
<p>
"She inspired them to rebuild and move on from the devastating Carlton Complex Fire," he said. "I'll always remember someone saying, 'If Cinder can do it, then we can do it.' That inspired me too."
</p>
<p>
Her story is the subject of a
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cinder-the-bear/id999551105?mt=11" target="_blank">children's e-book</a> called "Cinder the Bear: A True Story of Rescue, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Return."
</p>
<p>
The Idaho Black Bear Rehab's founder and president Sally Maughan also paid tribute to the famous bear.
</p>
<p>
"We will remember Cinder for the gentle, calm bear she was and for the pain and suffering and inspiration she became to so many humans," Maughan
<a href="http://www.bearrehab.org/cinderUpdate.shtml" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "She touched our hearts, filled our souls with compassion and the undeniable desire to help her heal. She did heal, bringing us humans along with her—those who suffer in fire and lose so much. Our tribute to Cinder is to never forget her, to thank her for showing us how to heal in the worst of times, and for her courage and fight to survive to live free again."
</p>
<p>
Cinder was released in June 2015 with a cub named Kaulana, who was also injured by wildfires. Sadly, the young male cub was also found killed by a hunter in 2015.
</p>
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Grizzly bear / Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith ; Black bear / Jitze Couperus ; Polar bear / Pexels
For the first time, scientists have observed three American bear species—the black bear, polar bear and grizzly bear—using the same habitat in Canada's Wapusk National Park.
"Scientifically, it has never been documented anywhere," Doug Clark of the University of Saskatchewan told the Canadian Press.
<p>
Using remote cameras, Clark and his research team documented 401 bear-visits of all three species (366 from polar bears, 25 from black bears and 10 from grizzlies) at three camps in the national park from 2011–2017. The <a href="http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/AS-2018-0013#.W_hKypM3mqR" target="_blank">findings</a> were published this week in the journal <em>Arctic Science</em>.<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c18d4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PIZ12J1576662629"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1065694549018857472" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We found grizzly, black and polar bears together for the first time: "This particular story of the three bears isn’… https://t.co/K6CWiB0tnq</div> — Nunatsiaq News (@Nunatsiaq News)<a href="https://twitter.com/NunatsiaqNews/statuses/1065694549018857472">1542916354.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The presence of polar and black bears was not unusual. After all, Wapusk National Park is home to one of the world's largest maternity denning areas for polar bears. The park also lies north of a forested region, where black bears call home.<br></p><p>
It was the number of grizzly visits that was the biggest surprise.
</p><p>
<span></span>"These observations add to a growing body of evidence that grizzlies are undergoing a substantial range increase in northern Canada and the timing of our observations suggests denning locally," the authors wrote.
</p><p>
Clark delved deeper into the study in an essay for <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-found-grizzly-black-and-polar-bears-together-for-the-first-time-106216" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>:<br>
</p><blockquote>
Three dynamic ecosystems—forest, tundra and ocean—converge at Wapusk, and all are changing quickly
<a href="https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/handle/11374/1838" target="_blank">as the Arctic warms</a>.<br>
<br>
What we've seen in Wapusk is consistent with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/44.2.152" target="_blank">how researchers expect northern carnivore populations to respond</a> to climate change.
</blockquote><p>
The study adds more evidence that grizzly bears are showing up in places where they are not usually found. Other scientists have suggested that increased sightings of so-called "pizzly" or "grolar" bears—or grizzly-polar hybrids—are the result of grizzly bears in Alaska and Canada expanding north due to the warming environment, thus bringing them in contact with polar bears.
</p><p>
<span></span>"The combination of warmer temperatures and vegetation growth means there is more overlap between the species and I'd expect that overlap to increase," Chris Servheen, a grizzly bear expert at the University of Montana, told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/18/pizzly-grolar-bear-grizzly-polar-hybrid-climate-change" target="_blank">Guardian</a> in 2016.
</p><p>
It is not currently clear if the three bear species are interacting with each other, or what effect their combined presence has on the larger environment.
</p><p>
"How they interact is a really big question," Clark told the Canadian Press. "There's all kinds of things that could go on."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9f203" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LG4E6W1576662629"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1059925651866546176" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Sighting of Sperm Whales in Arctic Waters 'Really Shocking' https://t.co/xEW4KHZOol
#ClimateChange #globalwarming… https://t.co/PO9RE8yCED</div> — Sea Shepherd SSCS (@Sea Shepherd SSCS)<a href="https://twitter.com/SeaShepherdSSCS/statuses/1059925651866546176">1541540942.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Rangers tranquilized a bear cub to free him from a plastic jar. Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Wildlife & Heritage Service
A Maryland bear cub got himself into a sticky situation over the weekend.
The 100-pound male bear earned himself the nickname "Buckethead" when he got his head stuck in a plastic jar in search of a tasty snack, BBC News reported.
<p>Luckily, the <a href="http://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Maryland Department of Human Resources - Wildlife & Heritage Service</a> was able to help him out. After a three-day search, rangers located the cub, tranquilized him and removed the offending jar Saturday night, the service wrote on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mddnrwildlife/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</p><p>The cub was then immediately returned to the woods and reunited with his mother and one sibling, the service said.<br></p><p>The rangers said they did not know what the jar contained, only that "it smelled good," the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/buckethead-bear-cub-plastic-jar_us_5bc55af4e4b0d38b58709573" target="_blank">Huffington Post reported</a>. </p><p>"We think it was one that had pretzels or cheese balls in it, by the shape anyway," the department wrote on Facebook, according to the Huffington Post.</p><p>A video taken Friday showed the bear pre-operation.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6a98d2db8b741ea94c3aabe214dfd7ac"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/mddnrwildlife/videos/106912763580806/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>While "Buckethead" got a happy ending, the story is a serious reminder that plastic pollution poses a threat to land <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_blank">animals</a> as well as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a>.<br></p><p>Last month, the <a href="https://www.wihumane.org/wildlife" target="_blank">Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at the Wisconsin Humane Society</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tangled-squirrel-tails--plastic-2605930409.html" target="_self">rescued</a> five juvenile gray squirrel siblings whose tails had gotten tangled together with grass and plastic used to make their nest.</p><p>And thousands of animals who don't make the news are killed or injured every year by trash, the <a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/" target="_blank">Humane Society</a> warned in an informational pamphlet called "<a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/wild_neighbors/dont_trash_wildlife.pdf" target="_blank">Don't Trash Wildlife</a>."</p><p>"Food containers become death traps when animals get their heads stuck inside," the pamphlet warned, describing exactly Buckethead's predicament. </p><p>But the Humane Society also offered a list of tips so you can dispose of trash without putting bears, squirrels or other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_blank">wildlife</a> at risk. </p><ol class="ee-ol"> <li>Rinse all recyclable containers to remove tempting odors.</li><li>Cut or crush plastic containers before disposing of them and cut apart the plastic rings connecting six packs.</li><li>Pick up fishing line or nylon twine when you see it.</li><li>Rinse out plastic wrap and dispose of it inside a sealed garbage bag or in a closed trash can.</li><li>Make sure you collect your trash properly when out in nature.</li><li>Secure trash cans with bungee cords wrapped around the lid and attached to the handles when out for collection and bring them out in the morning instead of the night before. </li></ol><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="0b6a0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AO3TZF1576662286"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1021398257447178240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Even Polar Bear Cubs Can't Escape Plastic Pollution | #Plastic #PlasticPollution https://t.co/F3JyeaXzzv</div> — A Plastic Planet (@A Plastic Planet)<a href="https://twitter.com/aplastic_planet/statuses/1021398257447178240">1532355295.0</a></blockquote></div>
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A federal judge on Thursday halted the first Yellowstone-area grizzly bear trophy hunts in four decades.
Wyoming and Idaho's grizzly hunt was set to begin this Saturday, Sept. 1 and would have allowed a potential kill of 23 bears outside of Yellowstone National Park.
<p>
<span></span>But U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, Montana granted a 14-day restraining order on the hunt, siding with wildlife advocates and Native American tribes who sued U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) after its June 2017 decision to delist grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone area from protections under the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_blank">Endangered Species Act</a>.
</p><p>
Christensen
<a href="https://t.co/QJqyHfo5Z5" target="_blank" title="https://ejus.tc/2LBofQZ">wrote</a> that the hunt would cause irreparable harm to the animals "because once a member of an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered">endangered species</a> has been injured, the task of preserving that species becomes all the more difficult."
</p><p>
<a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a>, an environmental law nonprofit, filed the temporary restraining order on behalf of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> and <a href="https://www.npca.org" target="_blank">National Park Conservation Association</a>.
</p><p>
"As we explained to the judge today, the removal of protections for Yellowstone's iconic grizzlies was illegal. The bears should not be killed in a hunting season made possible by an illegal government decision," said Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso in a
<a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-halting-grizzly-hunt?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">press release</a>.
</p><p>
As EcoWatch
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bear-hunt-wyoming-2571671329.html" target="_blank">previously reported</a>, more than 200 tribal nations opposed the hunt, saying the bears are sacred to their culture, and want to move the bears to tribal lands.
</p><p>
"It's essential to protecting our religious and spiritual freedoms, and treaty rights in Yellowstone," Stan Grier, chief of the Piikani Nation and president of the Blackfoot Confederacy Chiefs told
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yellowstone-grizzlies/first-yellowstone-area-grizzly-hunt-in-40-years-blocked-by-federal-judge-idUSKCN1LG00L" target="_blank">Reuters</a>. "This sacred being is considered to be a deity by many tribes, not a rug."
</p><p>
The restraining order allows the judge time to decide whether the federal government should reinstate federal protections for the bears.
</p><p>
Grizzlies were given federal protection in 1975, when their numbers dropped to only several hundred, compared to an historic high of 100,000 in the lower 48 states. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, their numbers today have risen slowly to around 700.
</p><p>
USFWS delisted the bears last year, saying that their numbers have recovered to a point where federal protection is no longer needed.
</p><p>
But scientists say that the iconic animals are not ready for delisting because
<a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank">climate change</a> and other human-caused factors have threatened their food sources.
</p><p>
In May, 58 prominent scientists and experts, including renowned naturalist and primatologist
<a href="http://ecowatch.com/?s=Jane+Goodall" target="_blank">Dr. Jane Goodall</a>, signed a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Ec-KrsWzt4LTNNeXJvbmU5bnc/view" target="_blank">letter</a> asking USFWS to retain federal protections for the bears.
</p><p>
"Their future isn't secure yet because they face so many threats to survival," Goodall
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAPnvZ_q-EE" target="_blank">said</a> then. "Two of their four major foods have all but been wiped out due to climate change, disease and invasive species. And they may be killed if they prey on livestock in their increasingly difficult search for food."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="88e6a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="I8Y9JG1576662707"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="905174996758269953" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Battle Begins to Restore Protections for Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bears https://t.co/X8DQxHLNQ6 @greenpeaceusa @Sierra_Magazine</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/905174996758269953">1504645511.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Trending
Black bear in Alaska. C Watts / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Andrew Renner, 41, and his son Owen, 18 of Palmer, Alaska were charged this week with several felony and misdemeanor crimes after shooting and killing a mother black bear and her two "shrieking" newborn cubs in their den on Esther Island in Prince William in April.
The pair did not know the bears were part of an observation program by the U.S. Forest Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Their den was monitored by motion-activated camera, meaning the killings were caught on video and audio.
<p>
The younger Renner can even be heard saying, "they'll never be able to link it to us," according to court documents
<a href="http://www.ktva.com/story/38841443/2-accused-of-illegal-black-bear-kills-caught-on-video" target="_blank">obtained by KTVA</a>.
</p><p>
Alaska state troopers
<a href="https://dps.alaska.gov/dailydispatch/Home/DisplayIncident?incidentNumber=AK18027153" target="_blank">reported</a> Wednesday that the video shows the Renners skiing up to the remote den. Owen Renner fires two shots at the denning sow, or mother bear. The elder Renner then kills the "shrieking" newborn bear cubs and discards their bodies away from the den.
</p><p>
Two days after the animals were killed, the men returned to the site to pick up their shell casings and to dispose the dead bear cubs.
</p><p>
Andrew Renner brought the mother bear's remains to the Fish and Game Department in Palmer and falsely reported that he—not his son—killed the sow near Granite Bay in Prince William Sound.
</p><p>
"He further reported that while he realized after shooting it that the sow had teats, no cubs were present or located," the troopers wrote.
</p><p>
Their vessel, vehicle used to facilitate the hunt and hunting rifles have been seized. Charges against the pair include unlawful take of a female bear with cubs, possession and transport of illegally taken game. Andrew Renner was additionally charged with tampering with physical evidence, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unsworn falsification in the second degree. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, the troopers said.
</p><p>
Charging documents in the case, filed by Assistant Attorney General Aaron Peterson, gave more explicit details about the killing.
</p><p>
"Owen Renner shoulders a rifle and fires at least two shots at the bear," Peterson wrote, as quoted by KTVA. "The defendants listen for several minutes and eventually realize that it is not the dead sow, but the orphaned cubs making the sounds. The defendants then move closer to the den where Andrew Renner takes aim through his rifle scope only feet away and fires several more shots, killing the newborn bear cubs. Andrew Renner is captured on video saying. 'It doesn't matter. Bear down.'"
</p><p>
The hunt took place on state land but the topic of trophy hunting has reignited under the
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump" target="_blank">Trump</a> administration, which is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-hunting-alaska-conservation-2571000532.html" target="_blank">proposing</a> to overturn an Obama-era rule that protects iconic predators in Alaska's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_blank">national preserves</a>. The plan would allow hunters to go to den sites to shoot bear cubs and wolf pups, lure and kill bears over bait, hunt bears with dogs and use motor boats to shoot swimming caribou.
</p><p>
<span></span>"There isn't enough outrage in the world to cover the depravity of this wanton crime," Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society, said in a statement to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/08/10/a-mother-bear-and-two-shrieking-newborn-cubs-were-killed-in-their-den-by-hunters-troopers-say/" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>. "Whenever a trophy hunter displays such disregard for law and animal life, the organizations that promote trophy hunting—and the elected officials who support their agenda—are quick to condemn the scofflaws. And it would be the right thing to do now. But it would also ring a bit hollow because they are working to make this sort of killing perfectly legal on National Park Service lands in Alaska."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="8bfd3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IQN0VN1576662720"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="999106408841965568" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump Admin. Wants to Reinstate 'Cruel' Hunting Tactics in Alaska, Conservation Groups Say https://t.co/b4Alxz3qiX… https://t.co/EJm2OaiKwL</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/999106408841965568">1527040505.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Animal rights organizations expressed outrage after footage emerged of a trained bear named Tima performing ahead of a soccer match on Saturday between third-tier Russian teams Mashuk-KMV and Angusht.
The clip shows a muzzled bear led to the stadium by a handler. It lifts its arms up and down, gets on its hind legs and hands a soccer ball to the referee. It then makes clapping motions in front of the cheering crowd.
<p style="">
Animal rights groups condemned the display.
</p><p style="">
"It's clear that cruel training methods have been used to make this bear submissive enough to perform on command. All too often, wild <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animals">animals</a> used for entertainment are taken from their mothers at a young age, crammed into tiny cages or chained for long periods while they wait for their next performance. This is a far cry from their natural lives in the wild," Cassandra Koenen, head of wildlife campaigns at <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/" target="_blank">World Animal Protection</a>, told EcoWatch in a statement.
</p><p style="">
"Bears, like most wild animals, are highly unpredictable and people around the world have been mauled or attacked by these animals, underlining that show business is no career for a wild animal."
</p><p style="">
<a href="https://www.peta.org.uk/" target="_blank">PETA UK</a> director Elisa Allen also described the act as "inhumane."
</p><p style="">
"In addition to being inhumane and utterly out of touch, using a bear as a captive servant to deliver a football is downright dangerous," Allen said.
</p><p style="">
"The bear is the symbol of Russia, so we hope the country's people will show some compassion and national pride and stop abusing them. Common decency should compel the league to pull this stunt."
</p><p style="">
The stadium's announcer said the bear will participate in FIFA World Cup's opening ceremony in Moscow in June. However, organizers later told <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/russian-performing-bear-fifa-deny-claims-that-animals-will-feature-at-world-cup-2018-after-club-is-a3816186.html" target="_blank">Standard Sports</a> that no animals will be used as part of the ceremonies.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="1d98d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="OMLP8T1576662224"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="928617286067466240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Italy Bans Use of #Circus Animals https://t.co/Z2MApUFRPM @peta @peta2 @WWF @NWF @MercyForAnimals @BuzzFeedAnimals… https://t.co/6HQHqvTcqg</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/928617286067466240">1510234588.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Plan to Kill Colorado Mountain Lions, Black Bears Prompts Lawsuit Against U.S. Fish & Wildlife
09 March 2018
Animals
A mountain lion mother and cub in the Rocky Mountains. Rarepic in / Flickr
Three conservation and animal-protection organizations sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Thursday for funding a Colorado Parks and Wildlife plan to kill hundreds of mountain lions and dozens of black bears without analyzing the risks to the state's environment.
The multi-year plan to kill black bears and mountain lions in the Piceance Basin and Upper Arkansas River areas of Colorado is intended to artificially boost the mule deer population where habitat has been degraded by oil and gas drilling. The killing plans were approved despite overwhelming public opposition, and over the objection of leading scientific voices in Colorado.
<p>The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado by the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, <a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/" target="_blank">The Humane Society of the United States</a> and <a href="http://wildearthguardians.org/" target="_blank">WildEarth Guardians</a>. The lawsuit faults the Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to adequately analyze the impacts of these lethal predator-control experiments under the National Environmental Policy Act.</p><p>"It's appalling that the Fish and Wildlife Service bankrolled this killing without bothering to truly examine the environmental risks," said Andrea Santarsiere, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Reckless oil and gas drilling has destroyed mule deer habitat, and outdated predator-control techniques can't fix that. Slaughtering bears and mountain lions will only further damage these ecosystems."</p><p>The Piceance Basin Plan will last three years. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will use specialized contractors, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program, to kill mountain lions and black bears using inhumane traps, snares and hounds. The killing will be focused on and around the Roan Plateau, considered one of the most biologically diverse areas in Colorado. Up to 75 black bears and 45 cougars will be killed for a cost of approximately $645,000—75 percent of which will be paid for with federal taxpayer dollars.</p><p>"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorizing the use of millions of public dollars meant to promote wildlife restoration to kill Colorado's bears and mountain lions is outrageous," said Stuart Wilcox, staff attorney for WildEarth Guardians based in Denver. "Scapegoating species key to ensuring Colorado's ecosystems remain resilient—because the state wants to ignore the true impacts of the filthy fossil fuel industry—adds insult to injury."</p><p>The Upper Arkansas River Plan will last nine years, during which time Colorado Parks and Wildlife plans to kill more than 50 percent of the mountain lion population in the area. Colorado expects the killing of up to 234 mountain lions will cost nearly $4 million, 75 percent of which will be federally funded.</p><p>"The Fish and Wildlife Service has an obligation under federal law to evaluate the environmental implications of its actions, relying on the best available <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a>, and to allow the public to review that analysis," said Anna Frostic, managing attorney for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> and animal research at The Humane Society of the United States. "The agency has failed to comply with these statutory duties, ignoring potentially devastating impacts on black bears and mountain lions." </p><p>Rather than provide an independent analysis disclosing the environmental impacts of the Piceance Basin and Upper Arkansas River plans, the Fish and Wildlife Service tried to adopt an environmental assessment prepared by Wildlife Services, a wholly separate agency, whose purpose is to kill so-called "nuisance" animals nationwide.<br><br><strong>Background</strong><br>Mountain lions and black bears are critical to their native ecosystems. Mountain lion predation produces carrion that feeds more bird and mammal scavengers than that of any other predator on the planet. Black bears' diverse diet of fruits results in broad dispersion of seeds, and their foraging behavior creates disturbances that allow sunlight to reach plants below the forest canopy, making them "ecosystem engineers."</p><p>Bears and cougars are vulnerable to persecution and could be extirpated from these two regions as a result of the plans. The Fish and Wildlife Service failed to consider the many substantial environmental harms that are likely to result from the plans, such as the harm to the local ecosystem of this potential extirpation and the suffering and deaths of orphaned cubs and kittens.</p>
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</p><div id="88e6a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BMAAFW1576662227"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="905174996758269953" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Battle Begins to Restore Protections for Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bears https://t.co/X8DQxHLNQ6 @greenpeaceusa @Sierra_Magazine</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/905174996758269953">1504645511.0</a></blockquote></div>
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