Weighing up to 1,600 pounds and standing 10 feet tall, its no wonder why Grizzly Bears have fascinated and terrified generations of Americans. In 1803 Thomas Jefferson dispatched Lewis and Clark to explore the west (west then, was nearly everything off the east coast of America). As the Lewis and Clark expedition dispatched they had many encounters with Grizzlies. At the time there was an estimated 50,000 grizzles living in the now United States. The expedition met most of the great bears with fear, there low powered rifles offering little defense against the bears mighty paws and jaws. The bears were able to sustain many gunshot wounds before becoming fatally wounded. Many bears even boar scars of previous attempts to kill it, either from the Indians or the white men determined to explore the west. As Captain Lewis remarked "These bear being so hard to die rather intimidates us all. I must confess that I do not like the gentleman and had rather fight two Indians than one bear". Two years later, when Zebulon Pike was sent to investigate the sources of the Mississippi, he returned with two Grizzly cubs, which he proudly gave to Peale's Museum in Philadelphia. The bears were kept alive until they grew up and became aggressive, at which time they were executed. (1,7,8)
Perhaps the strangest story in the bears history is its association with the Ainu people of Hokkaido. For centuries these indigenous people have captured cubs and raised them in captivity feeding them with human food. The bears are even breast-fed by humans, only to be later sacrificed in a religious ceremony (which is now banned). In medieval Europe bears were used for various entertainment and ceremonies. The bears ability to walk on its hind legs worked against it as circuses and exhibits exploited the bears. In fact in Turkey and Greece, the bears are still trained as "dancing bears" to entertain street tourist. (3)
Perhaps out of fear of attack, protection of their livestock, their valuable furs, or simply the challenge of killing one, the Grizzlies were nearly hunted to extinction in a just a few short decades. The bears numbers were probably declining even before the white mans assault began. The plains Indians killed the bears whenever possible. They considered the animals, rightfully so, dangerous and the killing of one was celebrated like a great victory. The introduction of horses by the Spanish only added to success of these killings, giving the bear one less advantage. The Spanish, for sport, lassoed the bears in California and placed them in rings with vicious bulls to fight. The bears always won. As the West began to develop, more and more land was taken from the Grizzlies, and any that wandered back into their previous homes were quickly killed as a dangerous predator. Grizzlies were also hunted for sport and many populations and subspecies were quickly obliterated. Among them, the California Grizzlies became extinct in the 1920's. Soon the only Grizzlies in America that were not threatened where those in National Parks, and Alaska where hunts were either illegal or too costly (due to the remote locations of the bear populations). (2,5,6)
Perhaps the most important mainland population of grizzlies is the bears found in Yellowstone Park. In 1872 President Grant created Yellowstone National Park for its renowned scenery and geothermic activity. But soon after, the park's grizzly bears became one of the main attractions. By the late 1800's dozens of bears began gathering at local garbage dumps and piles near hotels. The nearly tame bears ate the leftovers the hotel guest threw out. In the early 1900's, the Yellowstone grizzlies began waiting near the park roads, begging for food or treats. Many bears even approached cars and pressed their noses against the windows. With activity like this, it's no wonder that between 1931 and 1959 an average of 48 park visitors a year were injured or killed by bears (mostly black bears). Unfortunately, most of the Grizzly bears encounters ended with the death of the bear. With both grizzlies and visitors being harmed by the bear's tameness, the park service decided to take action. (2,4,5,6)
In 1970, the park service enacted strictly enforced rules about feeding the bears, they also closed the garbage dumps in the park and installed bear-proof trash cans. The new policies were controversial and many environmentalist feared the already scarce bears would suffer from the dump closings (as the trash made up a significant portion of the bear's diets). In the first few years of the new policies, many bears died of starvation or were killed when they continued to hunt through campgrounds for food. At the same time, the policy seemed to be working as bear-caused injuries dropped to less then one a year. With the combination of habitat loss, hunting, and the new Yellowstone polices, the bears dropped to record low numbers. In 1975, federal officials declared the Yellowstone grizzlies "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act as the bears dropped to an estimated 200 to 300 bears remaining in the wild. (2,5,6)
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) saved the Yellowstone grizzlies from extinction. The ESA dedicated 9,000 square miles of land as recovery zones for the grizzly. The ESA also restricted the bears transport and sale, and protection from federal or business activities that could adversely affect them. Under the ESA federal funds are also given to wildlife agencies to study and recover the bears. Now, 30 years after the ESA went into effect, the Yellowstone grizzlies have climbed to 600 bears, with a population growing at about 4% a year. With the success of the bears recovery comes the next challenge, the proposal of delisting the bears from the Endangered Species Act. (6)
In the last few years, the bears have met their population, distribution, and reproduction targets. This success has brought people from many agencies to request the delisiting of the bear. Main supporters of delisting include the oil, gas, logging, cattle ranch, and hunting industries. Many developers also want to develop parts of the current 9,000 square miles currently protected for the grizzles. Delisting debates began years ago, but two recently released documents have encouraged an official proposal. In 2003, the "Conservation Strategy" was released by federal and state agencies siting how to monitor and manage the grizzly population once it's delisted. In 2004, the "Draft Environment Impact Statement" released by the Forest Service, addresses how the six national forest in the Greater Yellowstone Area will manage the grizzly habitats upon delisting. (6)
The delisiting has been meet with fierce criticism from both the public and private sector. Most parties agree however on two major points for the grizzlies to continue recovery (with or without delisting). First, the Yellowstone grizzlies need to be connected to other grizzly populations in the wild. This would mean a establishing grizzly territories to connect Yellowstone to the grizzly territories of the Northwestern United States and Canada. However, a proposal to reintroduce grizzlies into strategic areas was shot down by the Bush administration in 2001. Second, there is a major need for funding to pay for research, public education, monitoring, and recovery efforts. Currently, under the ESA, the bears receives about $2 million a year. To connect the bears to other territories and continue current recovery efforts an estimated total of $3.5 million a year will be needed (or approximately .0018% of the current cost of operation Iraqi Freedom). A delisting rule is expected in mid 2005 and a final rule by the end of 2005. (5,6)
There are many reasons to keep the Yellowstone grizzlies under the protection of the ESA. First the grizzlies food supply is under threat. Biologist point out 4 problems with major food sources: the seeds of the whitebark pine, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, army cutworm moths, and bison carcasses. In short, the whitebark pine is been killed by the deadly bark beetle and a disease known as blister rust. The cutthroat trout are threatened by lake trout, a nonnative species introduced for fishing purposes. In addition, a neurological disease is also killing the cutthroat and has already killed off all the cutthroat in Yellowstone Lake. The cutworm moths are being eliminated by pesticide splaying in the Great plains where they migrate to Yellowstone from. Finally, bison carcasses (the bears usually don't kill their own bison, just eat the carcass) are becoming a rarity as disease called brucellosis is forcing wildlife managers to kill and remove infected bison. With these four major natural food sources threatened the grizzly could easily slip back into threatened numbers. The ESA funding is needed to investigate how to restore these natural food sorces. (2,5,6)
Finally, land protected under the grizzlies ESA, when developed, would no longer be grizzly friendly territory. Recently a lease of 175,000 acres of Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National forest was given up for oil and gas development. Most of this land is roadless and prized for its wildlife. Oil and gas development would greatly effect all the local wildlife, which would be killed or relocated if it wandered onto oil and gas development job sites. Luckily, public outcry and pressure of Wyoming's Governor put the lease on hold till public concerns could be addressed. The grizzlies tiny amount of land might not be as lucky. (5,6)
1. Clutton-Brock, Juliet. Mammals. New York: Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2002.
2. Cundal, Alan, and Lystrup, Herbert. Yellowstone National Park. West Yellowstone: Hamilton Stores, 2002.
3. MacDonald, David. The Encyclopedia or Mammals. United Kingdom: Andromeda Books. 2001.
4. National Park Service. “Bear Management Update - Yellowstone National Park.” 2 Dec. 2004. NPS. <http://www.nps.gov/yell/nature/animals/bear/grizzlyup.html>. 2004.
5. NATURE: The Good, the Bad, and the Grizzly. Television show on PBS. 2004.
6. Online. “NATURE: The Good, the Bad, and the Grizzly.” 2 Dec. 2004. PBS. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/thegrizzly.html>. 2004.
7. Sanderson, Ivan. How to Know the American Mammals. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, 1951
8. Wise. American Wild Life. New York: WM. H. Wise & Co., 1954