Radio Collared Bears

[SkunkedAgain]

For those of you hunting bears this year, I'm putting out a reminder to avoid the radio-collared bears in the Ely area. I'm not against hunting but do think that the bear research these folks are doing is important and therefore warrants the reminder. Spread the word too, since it's usually a bad apple somewhere that spoils the good efforts of all hunters.

Below is a quote from the recent research blog of Lynn Rogers. If you want to learn more about what they are doing, check out the North American Bear Center HSOforum.

Quote:

All of this assumes these bears survive the hunting season—and we believe they will. Hunters begin baiting tomorrow in preparation for the hunt which starts September 1. We noticed extra 4-wheeler traffic in the study area today. Hunting guides will be asking their hunters not to shoot radio-collared bears, backing up our request and the DNR’s request to spare radio-collared bears.

Very soon, we will put up signs throughout the study area alerting hunters to the presence of radio-collared bears. We will also tie multiple gawdy ribbons on the radio-collared bears. To see what the ribbons look like, check the MN DNR site and wait for the slide show to load. The picture above is June with ribbons tied to her collar.

Things continue to come together in the Education Outreach project. People are working hard.

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

[Skeeter21i]

I agree on not shooting collared bears. The Bear Center and bears in general have gotten alot of exposure due to Lily the Bear since last winter on Facebook, TV documentaries and elsewhere in the news. Alot of non-hunters (including kids with school groups) have been following that Facebook site and touring the Bear Center this summer. It takes an event like a collared bear getting shot to turn those non-hunters into anti-hunters instantly. We don't need more anti's, we have enough already to go around. The rest of us end up paying the price for someone elses lack of judgement. There are plenty of non-collared bears out there. I give credit to the guides in the area for cooperating with the center, its great PR for us hunters. I hunt in the Ely area and have seen a few with collars the last few falls. I've been to the NABC in Ely a few times, have had kids of relatives sit in on some programs and have talked to people there a bit. In all that, I've never heard anything resembling anti-hunting from anyone there.

[Matt Breuer]

It's not just Ely either, I believe they collar bears in Thief Lake as well as Agassiz. My brother had a radio collared bear coming into his bait all season, never saw a different bear on his land that season. Needless to say, he went bearless...

[Boar]

I know the Strandquist site I was gonna open up, but had to pull the on, neighbor lady talked about radio collard bear or bears in the area. Good for your brother, Time, money, effort an then to go bearless on a actual legal bear. Thumbs up. Boar

[just_jig]

Lynn Rogers and hunters in the area have not always seen eye to eye. Naming bears and being able to walk up to and pet the bears takes away from the wild bear aspect. A true wildlife research would say nothing about the collar's for bear mortality through hunting should be a factor in a bears life. The DNR collars Moose and there is no discouragement of shooting them, just return the collar.

Remember it is legal to take a collared Bear.

[bogwalker]

I started to comment on this yesterday but decided not to get into it. Their research on radio collared bears is not valid in some areas if they try to protect these bears from hunters. Close to 90% of the estimated wild bear population in Minnesota are eventually killed by hunters. The human/bear contact that appears to be going on there is setting these bears up to be shot. To tame bears for human enjoyment is selfish and short sighted at best and cruel and uncaring at worst. If you are concerned about anti-hunters you should take a closer look at what is going on there. This activity feeds their unreal view of wildlife.

[bogwalker]

Several years ago there was a collared bear that traveled from just North of Grand Rapids to the Nett Lake area. You could run into a collared bear many miles from where it was collared. That is valuable information to researchers. I do not have a problem passing up a collared bear but I have a big problem with treating bears like a pet. Taking away their natural fear of man and causing them to get shot because of stupidity on the part of humans is inexcusable.

[Boar]

Agreed 110% Boar

[Steve Foss]

I know Lynn and have interviewed him for news stories and spoken with him on many occasions about his research.

I'm not going to get into it point by point, but there are a lot of misconceptions out there about his research style, some of them mentioned in this thread. Lynn has long been a supporter of bear hunting. He just wants radio-collared bears left alone so his and others' research can continue unimpeded. Seems a reasonable request.

[cherokee]

I understand the research but once you start naming bears (identification number yes, but name no) that is when the problem begins. You are humanizing a wild animal. I personally don't like to see wild animals having ribbons tied all over them and wearing a radio collar. I think you would get more accurate data by keeping quiet on the radio collared bears (not discouraging hunters to shoot or encouraging hunter to pass) and let things happen. What is the end goal of the research?

[CANOPY SAM]

Do you think the bear knows it's been given a name and number? If I were a bear I'd like to be named Bear #1. Then all the other bears would be envious because I am #1, cause everybody wants to be #1.

Yea, I agree. Sciense people and studying stuff is jist dum....

[tweedlap]

I shot 537 about 10 years ago or so.

He was a 5.5 year old male. He also had a tattooed lip.

The research team shared their tracking data from the prvious three years with me.

I felt bad for getting one of the study bears but when I shot him

there was no way that I could see the collar. It was a weird

feeling walking up and finding the collar on the bear. It left me

with mixed emotions.

FYI, he was a long way away from his hibernating area. I would say

more than 40-50 miles from his wintering area.

tweed

[Muthagoose]

I know Lynn also and dont follow some of the enthusiasim.

Their research is only parralel to every other study done.

The whole den camera has been done twice but not with the publicity aligned with a Org benifitting as such.

MN and BC both have done extensive study and came to one agreement.. ANY humanization is not good. Just ask Donna Munson of Co.

Names for bears help introduce sypathetic guilt levels and encourages the hords of ignorant followers to donating record levels.

Dont you guys think that a Org that tried last year to shut down bear hunting east from Tower to beyond Trygg rd is a little radical? Or the fact that our state funds went to paying for a seprate mailing alert about collard bears after we received our booklet and seen it in the synopsis and it being posted on the web?

This was done at the request of Lynn. Why they heck didnt they pay for it?

Dont you think its odd that theres NO restrictions on the number of collars being allowed?

OR the priority of getting every bear fitted prior to season they have no issues with proclaiming its now their "study" bear and they have a right to protect it..

Simple answer Protected Big Game species in season of "TROPHY" size. No sows no little ones..

BOOM' Lynn knows where I live

[BEAST]

Just heard on the news one of the collared bears was shot in Ely - Sarah

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Just heard on the news one of the collared bears was shot in Ely - Sarah

I just read it on Star Trib. Hopefully every news channel doesn't lead with this at 5.

[harvey lee]

It's very sad that someone felt they needed to shoot Sarah.

Really gives the hunters a bad name.

[HooknHorns]

Doing something perfectly legal should never give anyone a bad name. Why dont they limit number of collars and make it illegal. Ya, I know its more about the hunt than just pullin the trigger. Its too bad if you could just proove you have a collar bear in everyday and then get an automatic draw for next year for passing on it. The time, money, and getting drawn is alot to give up for passing on a legal bear. I would frown on someone shooting a sow with cubs more than the shooting of a collared bear. Personally I would never do either on purpose. Haven't read the whole story so don't burn me at the stake.

[remington 300]

the only thing that will give hunters a bad name is the media, lets hope like lip ripper says they(the media) dont lead with the story tonight, that will do more harm than the actual shooting of the bear, which was legal,

[cherokee]

Personally I would not have shot the collared bear but the bear was legal and the hunter should not feel bad. I disagree with the agency that allowed this type of research to be done in the first place (bear given a name, ribbons tied on it, people walking with the bears, disrupting bears during hibernation). You are setting the bear up to be accustomed to humans. Legitimate research yes but this disney type of game being played is not right. I question the end result of this research. What is it? Bears are thriving in Minnesota. Is it studying hibernation, range, mortality? Or is it a step to end bear hunting?

[just_jig]

Is it also not interesting how Rogers or his cronies immediately contact the media to report a bloody collar. Did they need to contact the media? No, it serves their purpose. Do not be surprised if the 10'oclock news covers the story showing the collar.

[mabr]

I just spent the better part of an hour reading on their FB page (Lilly the black Bear). Interesting reading to say the least.

Although I didn't find to much in the way of trying to ban hunting bears, there was IMO a large majority on there who would be for it in a second. My take on thier approach is if they make their cause more visible (Face Book, Videos of cubs being born), education will prompt hunters to not want to hunt them. Make us feel all warm and fuzzy about bears. You need to read some of the stuff they write on there, I know it blew me away how some of them look at wild life and animals in general.

My avatar picture is of a buck and doe that I bottle raised (legal game farm)from 2 days old each. They were raised around people their entire lives and had no fear of people whatsoever. I knew going into it that if they were to ever get out of my pen that the chances were pretty good they would not return as I live in an area where deer hunting happens in my back yard. I went out of town for Thanksgiving weekend during the 3 rd year of owning these deer. During that time I was away there was a storm that knocked a tree over inside my pen taking down a portion of the fence and all my deer had gotten out. Knowing deer season was still open I had little hope they would return. Long story short the does made it the buck didn't. I'm sure hes on someones wall but I couldn't blame the person or car for that matter that took him out. It was my fault no one else's. I caused them to have no fear of man.

I look at the research place the same way. They try to make these bears into a cute little stuffed bear for the sake of so called research when there altering the bears behavior themselves just like i altered my deers natural behavior. How can this be for research, its not normal for a bear to allow human contact.

They want protection of the collared bears and I personally don't have a problem with that as long as like someone else said they limit it to a certain number of bears. They have MANY bears that they feed and study who do not have collars on them right now. And I'm sure if they just had to collar them they would end up sedating them to put collars on just to protect them. I personally think this whole research thing is misleading and an underhanded way of trying to stop the hunting of bears. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

[bogwalker]

Intentionally conditioning wild bears to accept humans as non-threatening food providers and companions is the most cruel act I can imagine. If the collared bears were targeted by hunters perhaps these so called researchers would stop their self serving, money making activities and allow wild animals to live a natural life. Make no mistake, what these people are doing is cruel, inhumane, unnatural and should outrage anyone who respects and cares about wildlife. This is not legitimate research.

[HooknHorns]

I couldn't even imagine wearing a collar that long, plus all the ribbons. Next they'll be wearing blaze orange vests. Does any one know if any cougars or the number of wolves have collars?

[bogwalker]

I couldn't even imagine wearing a collar that long, plus all the ribbons. Next they'll be wearing blaze orange vests. Does any one know if any cougars or the number of wolves have collars?

My son-in-law shot a collared bear several years ago. The collar was not visible at a distance. It was so tight that the skin was red and raw underneath. You could not fit one finger under the collar. The animal was starving to death.

[Lipriper84]

Wouldn't it be wild if someone from bear.org shot this bear so that they could get more media attention. I'm sure they are going to show a boost in donations. It says the collar was returned anonymously. Just putting it out there