Steve Merlo: Removal of bear hunting quota makes perfect sense
| Thursday, Apr 16 2009 11:17 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Apr 16 2009 11:17 PM
A while back, a friend and I came face to face with a sow black bear and her two small cubs. We had left the confines of a friend's house only 50 yards away when we saw the trio of bruins and stopped dead in our tracks. So did they. Despite the fact we were both armed with shotguns and heavy turkey loads, nothing in the world would have made us take another step.
The cubs, playful as can be, took one look at us and came barreling down the mountain to greet us, neither one heeding the warning whoofs from mama. One finally stopped and returned to her side, but the other kept coming until it was only a few yards away -- a really, really, really bad situation for bears and humans alike.
Thankfully, the sow finally got her message across -- to both parties, believe me -- and her offspring ran back to her side, where she greeted it with a resounding paw-slap that sent the little guy tumbling for 15 or so feet. She then gave another "Woof!" and both cubs scrambled 50 feet to the top of a nearby oak where they remained while she stood menacingly growling at us. Eventually, they came scaling down the tree at her next bark and all three sauntered off toward the next row of cabins.
Had I thought the situation over a little sooner, I would have shot her. Not to kill her, mind you, but to blister her butt with No. 6 shot from 60 yards away to let her know she screwed up by taking her family into too close proximity of humans that could only lead to disaster. I would have done it for the same reason she cuffed her cub -- out of love. The important thing mattering was that I loved her as much as she loved her kids - to protect them. I didn't care that she didn't love me back, and she didn't care whether her cubs loved her or not. The important thing is that I loved her, she loved her family, and it didn't matter that we were loved in return.
Bear populations are on the upswing, already overflowing their natural environment and ebbing into more and more contact with humans. Last year, a bear, in an unprovoked attack, severely mauled a local county resident walking her dogs. Fortunately, she lived to tell her story, but I wonder how much longer events like hers can continue to take place without a fatal outcome for either human, bear, or both.
My sister, Liz, and brother-in-law, Dale, had the rare good fortune to see not one, but two separate bears on a recent day trip above Greenhorn Mountain. In my lifetime, I've only seen a few in all my outings, but their experience only points out the severity of the ongoing ursine problem. Cabin owners and campers are facing more and more bear visits from well-fed, tamed-down animals and Department of Fish and Game employees are spending more and more of their precious time trapping and relocating the tsunami of pesky pests.
The bear season in California stands to be the only real control over the growing bear population. However, the 1,700-animal-per- year statewide harvest quota has not been effective, nor is it warranted. According to Department of Fish and Game analysis and biologists, "Bear hunting is managed by monitoring specific bear population criteria and comparing those criteria to levels listed in the Bear Management Plan."
In other words, bears are being scientifically and biologically managed by those directed by state government to take care of them, and no one is going to do anything to harm their overall numbers unless culling or harvesting is required to keep them within sane parameters.
A recent decision by the California Fish and Game Commission regarding bear hunting has drawn unwarranted fire from anti-hunting groups. The Commission wants to do away with the statewide 1,700-bear quota and also allow San Luis Obispo County to have its first bear season in years. Unfortunately, animal rights groups are petitioning the Commission to stop the ruling and actually stop bear hunting altogether, based on nothing more than their tear-jerking bleeding hearts, anti-hunting agendas and general ignorance regarding wildlife management.
Unfortunately, these un-informed factions can make a huge difference simply by overwhelming the Commission with protesting letters that have nothing whatsoever to do with scientific bear management. What real conservationists need to do is hurry up and write the Commission and agree with their ruling. Otherwise, should the change in bear regulations not go into effect, it means that conservation tools based on hunter-harvest information, scientific and biological facts, along with proper wildlife management, will be tossed out the window for good. When the bears go down, the rest of our wildlife cannot be too far behind.
Banquet reminder
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet and fundraiser will be Saturday night at the Kern County Fairgrounds. Cindy Seitz Krug, banquet chairperson, has announced that patrons can buy a dinner ticket with the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets, for only $35 per person. Contact her at 835-7065 for more info on this worthwhile event. Things get started around 4:30 p.m.
