Bears in the News

A place to post news stories featuring bears... once I can post external links

You'll be able to do that like the Photos after the 7 days Liz. It's a Host site security rule to protect the site.

WS

24 hours and counting

Liz aka WMT

Lai

A poor sad bear got its head stuck in a bucket... but some really brave persistent people helped it get free... and the bear didn't even stop to say thanks (mind you, I expect it was very keen to find something to eat!)

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/09/02/bucket-bear-rescued-by-group-in-clarion-county/

Now something like that really restores you faith in human nature, after all the sick stories you read, and hear about the abuse that is happening to animals. They are all Really impressed with the woman that held it down in a bear hug

WS

Perth link saves rare twin sun bears:

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/24870080/perth-link-saves-rare-twin-sun-bears/

Hopefully, with help, Jammy and Donut will make it to adulthood.

So glad we have moved on from the horrible treatment of past years... Bear pits and biscuits: The sad fate of Britain's bears

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28944797

An adorable bear has fun 'dancing' around a golf flag! Looks like it's having lots of fun

http://globalnews.ca/news/1555479/watch-dancing-baby-bear-delights-golfers-before-stealing-their-golf-ball/

That's hilarious , and the sort of dancing Bear that's lovely to see. Thanks Liz

WS

A rare great decision by authorities in Canada... Grizzly involved in fatal attack on hunter will stay in K-Country with cub.

It demonstrates why it's not a good idea to walk in the back country quietly. Of course hunters don't want to make noise to warn wildlife they are there hence he surprised the mother bear.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/touch/story.html?id=10196069&__federated=1

A really good decision, after a proper investigation, and a study of ll the facts. Clearly the Bear was protecting its cub, and its food scource. Although he WS not hunting Bears he must have known they were in the area, and it was a risk he knowingly took, and unfortunately paid the price. It makes a change from the usual knee jerk reaction, and I must also pay tribute to his family for accepting it as a correct decision
WS

Three bears rescued from poachers are doing well

After being rescued from poachers in Nepal by Wildlife SOS and International Animal Resuce (IAR) in December 2013, three sloth bears are reported to be doing well.

The bears had been kept by poachers until they had grown large enough for sale, and when they were old enough had been taken to India in an attempt to sell them to the Kalandar community, who had traditionally used bears for dancing. However, the practice of keeping dancing bears was made illegal in India in 1972, and in 2009 all dancing bears in the country were liberated. The poachers found that, as the Kalandar community no longer maintains the dancing bear tradition, they could not sell them the bears. As a result, the animals were taken back to Nepal, where it is believed they would have been sold to make bear paw soup.

They were fortunately apprehended by Wildlife SOS and local police from the forestry department. The bears, named Bean, Bintha, and Bobby, were moved to Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi for care, before being relocated to the Wildlife SOS Sanctuary where they are being cared for and rehabilitated with help from International Animal Rescue (IAR).

The oldest bear, Bean, was three-years-old when he was rescued from the poachers. He was found with a rope pierced through his nose, and his canines had been removed, most likely without anesthetic. Vets removed the rope from his nose and treated him for pain.

Bintha, who was 11-months-old at the time of rescue, also had her nose pierced and harnessed with a rope, and although it has healed, she still bears the scars.

According to Wildlife SOS, Bobby is the more reserved of the three. After he has spent time learning the basics of being a wild sloth bear in the sanctuary’s socialisation enclosure, he will be given access to a free-roaming area where he can live like a wild bear, but with the added security of having the Wildlife SOS team on-hand. All the bears now have a clean bill of health and continue to improve, socialising with the other bears at the sanctuary.

Sloth bears, which are found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka (the Sri Lankan sloth bear), have been traditionally used as dancing bears. They are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, with currently about 20,000 alive in the wild.

WS

Thanks WS. That makes for such sad reading but at least now those poor bears have been rescued and live out their lives in safety thanks to Wildlife SOS and everyone else who has helped rescue them. Dancing bears are such a disgrace and humiliation, I can't believe it still goes on in Nepal.

Lai

Bear bile farming on the increase in Lao PDR
29/10/2014 15:00:04

The number of captive bears in Lao PDR’s bear bile farms has trebled between 2008 and 2012, new research shows.

Evidence indicates the number of bears has increased from around 40 in 2008 to 122 in 2012, with many believed to have been illegally captured from the wild. The number of farms has also increased from one in 2000 to 11 by 2012.

There is no evidence of breeding facilities at these farms, and this together with an absence of paperwork to show legal procurement of the bears has led to the conclusion that bear farms in Lao PDR are acquiring and keeping bears illegally.

Some facility owners have even admitted as much to the report’s authors, independent researcher, Emily Livingstone and Chris R. Shepherd, Regional Director of TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.

“This industry is likely to contribute to the decline of national wild bear populations by further stimulating the market for wild bear bile and increasing the incentive to poach wild bears,” say the authors in their study Bear farms in Lao PDR expand illegally and fail to conserve wild bears.

The hunting, capture and possession of wild bears and the removal and trade in their bile and other parts is illegal under national legislation, while international trade in wild bears and their parts for commercial purposes is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Lao’s Wildlife and Aquatic Law, 2007 allows trade in second generation captive-bred bears and parts thereof within the country, but poor monitoring and record keeping of bears in bile extraction facilities allows this provision to be used as a loophole by farmers hiding the illegality of their operations

“The open and ongoing bear bile trade involving Lao PDR clearly illustrates the failure of the Laotian and other governments in the region to comply with and enforce the rules of CITES,” said Dr Chris R Shepherd.

“The Government of Lao PDR needs to lead the way in ending the illegal bear bile trade through effective implementation and enforcement of CITES regulations and national legislation.”

Lao PDR is a landlinked country bordering Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam

WS

That is not good reading.

Lai

A positive step for Polar Bears
11/11/2014 14:07:46  
Polar Bears have been listed as a protected migratory species under CMS
Following a recent conference in Quito, Ecuador, the Polar Bear has now been listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

Over 100 countries attended the week-long conference, which resulted in a record 31 species gaining protected status, including the iconic Polar Bear.

The bears’ decreasing population is spread across five countries: USA, Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Owing to the new listing, these countries have had to consent to working closely together to improve protection for the bear, which frequently crosses international borders during their huge migrations, classing them as ‘migratory’ under the rules of the convention.

Currently there are 10 recognised subpopulations of Polar Bear. Four of these are classified by the Polar Bear Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission as ‘declining’ and nine as ‘data deficient’, with only only classified as ‘increasing’.

The bears’ main threat is global warming, which has the most substantial impact on their polar habitat. This temperature increase reduces the sea ice on which the bears rely on for food, mating and denning.

In addition, some bear subpopulations are under treat by shipping, subsistence hunting, and sport hunting as seen with the Canadian populations. Threats also include disease, contamination with pollutants, human-wildlife conflict, competition and hybridisation with brown bears.

Along with the bears’ low reproductive rates and long-term maternal dependency, there can leave little doubt that the Polar Bear needs firm protective measures in place. The Appendix II listing provides a framework for this, providing an opportunity for the wider international community to collaborate in efforts to protect the animal.

“The CMS Appendix II listing is a milestone in international efforts to protect the iconic Polar Bear,” said Mark Jones speaking from the Born Free Foundation. “The engagement of the CMS family will provide mechanisms for supporting and strengthening exiting multilateral and bilateral collaborative measures between Arctic States and indigenous Arctic communities aimed at conserving polar bears. We now urge CMS Parties and non-parties alike to work together to secure the future of this iconic species.”

Although the news of the listing was welcomed by some, including Born Free Foundation and Born Free USA, others were skeptical while some opposed it altogether.

Speaking to The Guardian, Dr. Masha Vorontsova, Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare Russia said, “Appendix II does not mean that sufficient conservation action will be taken to protect the well-being of polar bears. This is an important first step, but it must not be the last if we wish to save the polar bear.”

Inuit groups present at the conference opposed adding the Polar Bear to the endangered species list. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Terry Audla argued: “The proposal under consideration does not explain how a listing will enhance existing conservation mechanisms at the international, national and regional levels — some of them more than 40 years old — that are well-managed and collaborative, supporting both the conservation of the polar bear and the interests of Inuit.”

Find out more about Polar Bears by reading our field guide, which includes details on what Polar Bears eat, where they live and what threats they face

WS

Thanks WS, it's a positive step forward but so much more needs to be done to protect them

WS. I agree with WMT

Lai

Your right Guys a step in the right direction, but still only a step

WS

Apparently, the Chernobyl area hasn’t seen brown bears for more than a century, scientists set up 40 wildlife camera traps in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Apart from the brown bear, the cameras also captured European pine martin, Eurasian lynx, roe deer and many other animals, which seem to be returning to what is considered to be something of a zone of the dead.

You can see some of the 'captures' here... http://rt.com/news/210167-chernobyl-brown-bears-photographs/

My favourite pic is of the lynx, what a great camera trap shot!

for sharing that WMT, some good news and I agree about the lynx pic, absolutely superb capture!

Lai