Bear Vision

Bears can see almost as well as humans, they tend to be nearsighted but have good depth perception. They have a layer of tissue called the tapetum lucidum that lies behind the retina that reflects light and improves their night vision. All bears have round pupils except giant pandas which have slits. Polar bears have...

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Year end thank you

Last month it all came flooding back to me - why I do the work that I do.I gave a GBOP presentation to a small group of youngsters in Mount Vernon. They were all from a neighborhood that gets special attention from an amazing man - Jon Gerondale. He's the Neighborhood Resource Officer for Mount Vernon Police in Kulshan...

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Winter Bear Idiosyncrasies

Bears have some fascinating physiological traits, several of which are manifested during their winter denning period. These include: delayed implantation of the embryo for 3-4 months following the summer breeding season, and maintenance of energy and water balance during the 3-5 month denning period.Energy and Water Balance...

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Has the Arctic melt passed the point of no return?

Why are Polar Bears falling through the sea ice? Scientists have found the first unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world at least a decade before it was predicted to happen. Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than...

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Grizzly bears go island hopping

Somewhere in the mist-shrouded rainforests of northern Vancouver Island, a grizzly bear is hibernating in its winter den. And he is the source of mystery, fascination, and even fear among Island residents.As far as anyone can remember or scientists can determine, only black bears have lived on Vancouver Island.But this...

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Whale of a party

Can you count the grizzlies dining on this beached whale in Alaska?Now that's a Thanksgiving mea...

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WDFW Director Resigns After 10 Years Service

OLYMPIA- After a decade of leadership in fostering scientific and collaborative management of state natural resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Director Jeff Koenings, Ph.D., has announced his resignation, effective Dec. 11."In collaboration with many other resource managers and Washington citizens,...

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Grizzly - symbol of freedom

�Alive, the grizzly is a symbol of freedomand understanding � a sign that man canlearn to conserve what is left of the earth.Extinct, it will be another fading testimonyto things man should have learned moreabout but was too preoccupied with himselfto notice. In its beleaguered condition,it is above all a symbol of what...

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Return of the Mexican Grizzly Bear?

The Mexican grizzly bear - Ursus arctos nelsoni: these bears were reported to be abundant in northern Mexico in the early 1900�s. There were numerous bears in the states of Baja, Sonora and Chihuahua. This subspecies of brown bear also occurred in the United States in New Mexico and Arizona. The last confirmed sightings...

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Grizzly Mountain Roadsign

I ran across this road sign across from Grizzly Mountain on a trip through the North Cascades recently. I was on my way to Montana on my motorcycle, traversing some of the most beautiful wild areas in North America, on my way to a grizzly bear management meeting near Missoula. I've passed the Highway 20 road sign near...

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Intestines, the Bear Facts

Many people have seen bear scat; whether it is in pictures, at a zoo or in the wild, it is usually very apparent what the bear had been eating. So how does the food get from one end of the bear to the other?The teeth start the breakdown process of the food the bear eats. They use their teeth to hold, tear and grind food...

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Grizzly attitudes in Montana

I just returned from western Montana, where I appeared several places to promote my new book: Grizzly Wars: The Public Fight Over the Great Bear.I found that local attitudes toward grizzlies differed depending on where I was. In the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula, where grizzlies have been absent for years, a resident...

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"Bears move to town" follow up comments

Related to the previous BLOG entry I found the following graphic in the most recent issue of High Country News interesting. This graphic is based on data from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Nevada Department of Wildlife. Click on the above image to enlarge. Of particular interest were the facts that bears weigh...

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Bears abandon wilderness and move to the city

Bears are deserting traditional mountain and forest ranges and moving into towns where they scavenge for food. This attraction to 'fast food' in urban areas is luring black bears in North America to an early death, scientists have found.Why? So many young bears are killed in traffic accidents that it is threatening the...

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Poor Huckleberry Crop May Lead to Fewer Bear Cubs Next Spring

I�ve noticed while hiking in the high country this late summer and fall that something is notably missing � huckleberries. I�ve done a fair amount of hiking this year � on the PCT between Rainy Pass and the Canadian border, and closer to home on the northern and southern slopes of Mount Baker. Consistently I�ve seen small...

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You make the call- Grizzly? or Black Bear?

Each year a fair number of people report seeing a grizzly bear in the North Cascades. Some even take photos. Field biologists from the various agencies and non-profits examine these photos to try and determine if indeed they are grizzly bears or just large brown black bears.You be the referree. These photos were all recently...

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NEW BOOK CHRONICLES EFFORT TO SAVE GRIZZLIES

What does one do to save from extinction a creature as cantankerous and controversial as the grizzly bear? Do grizzlies still live in the North Cascades and what will it take to prevent them from dying out?Grizzly Wars: The Public Fight Over the Great Bear, slated for publication in early October, examines these and...

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Dogs and People working Together to Save Bears

The Wind River Bear Institute (WRBI), together with its Partners-In-Life Program�, is an innovative program that is saving the lives of bears by changing the way they are managed and viewed by wildlife agencies and the public. The goal of this program is to reduce conflicts between humans and bears so the two can coexist...

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Making Interstates More Wildlife Friendly

The fiinal Environmental Impact Statement has been released for the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Project located outside of Seattle in Washington state. One facet of this project is to make this section of the interstate more wildlife friendly.For the last few years the Washington State Dept. of Transportation has engaged several...

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Berries, Berries and Bears

Bears lose 30% to 40% of their body weight while hibernating. It�s important that they regain this weight before returning to the den in late fall. Mountain grizzlies and black bears rely on plants for a large part of their diet and it is during berry season that much of this weight gain is accomplished.During spring...

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The Great Outdoors is Calling

TrailsFest serves up a jam-packed day of outdoor adventure.Event details:TrailsFest 2008Saturday, July 19, 9am � 4pmRattlesnake Lake, North Bendwww.trailsfest.org This outdoor extravaganza features clinics on everything from wilderness first aid to hiking with kids to backcountry cooking. Take a guided hike, tie a fly...

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Are you "On Track"?

One of the best ways to tell the difference between a grizzly and a black bear is to analyze a track. Grizzly tracks denote long claws and have a flat pad. The pad of a black bear is predominately curved. Detailed track ID tips can be found at the GBOP website.These photos of a grizzly track were taken by Scott Fisher,...

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IGBC Committee 25th Anniversary

This year is the 25th Anniversary of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC). A jovial celebration and presentation of awards on June 21 was held at the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area in Seeley Lake, Montana, north of Missoula. What is the IGBC, you say? It is a group formed of federal and state...

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The Grizzly Bear - a cowboy poem

Consider now the Grizzly Bear, there�s information I could shareAbout this noble, fearsome beast, of which we used to know the leastOf any mammal of its, size, carnivorous or otherwise. Let�s classify the Grizzly Bear, because you know we really care,Its Latin name is sure to thrill us, Ursus arctos horribilis,It isn�t...

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Polar bears at the Burke

Hi Seattle polar bears fans,I thought you'd be interested in this polar bear event at the Burke museum in Seattle this coming weekend featuring Steve Kazlowski's images and a talk by my polar bear research colleague Dr Steve Amstrup.This event "The Last Polar Bear" features stunning photography by wildlife photographer...

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Governor proclaims official Bear Awareness Week

May 12-18 devoted to increasing awareness about the black and grizzly bears of WashingtonAs bears begin to emerge from winter sleep, they can be assured that Washington residents are going to be a little more informed about them this year, thanks to a new official Bear Awareness Week proclamation signed by Governor Christine...

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Bear Awareness Day, Saturday May, 17th, 9am to 3pm

In celebration of Washington State Bear Awareness Week the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP) will sponsor a Bear Awareness Day. This event will be hosted by the North Cascades Basecamp in Mazama.Planned activities include:� What's in your woods?, using a remote camera - Dennis Ryan.� Exploring bear sign, tracking and...

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Woodland Park Zoo Bear event

The Woodland Park Zoo celebrated the fourth annual Bear Affair day on Saturday , April 5th. The day began with Zoo staff hosting a behind the scenes tour to a group of 40 folks invited by GBOP to get an opportunity to meet the 950 pound grizzly brothers, Denali and Keema, up close and personal. The bears have a profound...

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Whatcom County supports Grizzly Bear recovery in the North Cascades

The Whatcom County Council passed the following resolution on March 11th, 2008. This resolution voices support for the implementation of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan which was approved in 1997.� Whatcom County�s wildlife and wild places are a core part of life in this beautiful county;� The Whatcom County...

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Governor Gregoire declares week of May 12 - 18 'Bear Awareness Week'

On February 28, 2008 Governor Christine Gregoire proclaimed May 12-18, 2008, as 'Bear Awareness Week' in Washington State, and urged all citizens to join in this special observance.The proclamation stressed the following points:� Washington�s wildlife and wild places are a core part of life in this beautiful state;� Washington�s...

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North Cascades Grizzly Bear Subcommittee Meeting, Tuesday April 22nd

The next meeting of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Recovery Subcommittee will be held at the US Forest Service Ranger Station in North Bend, Washington from 10 AM to 2:30 PM on April 22, 2008. An agenda for the meeting will be posted on the North Cascades Recovery Ecosystem webpage of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee...

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Join GBOP at Woodland Park Zoo (April 5) and REI (April 16)

Woodland Park Zoo and GBOP are hosting the annual Bear Affair Day on Saturday, April 5th.Also join Chris Morgan, bear biologist, director of the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project and Producer of the feature documentary BEARTREK at the downtown Seattle REI on Wednesday, April 16th beginning at 7 pm.On April 5th Woodland Park...

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