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03-05-2009, 09:51 AM
WILDLIFE Grizzlies head south to find food in Manitoba
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Recent sightings of grizzly bears - extinct from Manitoba for a century - have raised hopes the Canadian mammal may be making a comeback.
They've also prompted the provincial government to add the bears and other extirpated animals such as swift foxes and muskox to the list of species protected under the wildlife act. Biologists say the bears have been spotted in the northern part of the province and need more protection to encourage the animals to settle back in Manitoba.
"When there are so few of them, anything happening to them would be catastrophic," said Bill Watkins, wildlife biologist with the Conservation Department.
"If you only have two or three bears in the province and one or two of them were poached, then that's the end of the reoccupation.
It's important to protect these bears while they're so small in number and hopefully allow them to grow until we hit some sort of critical number for breeding population." While the province says increased sightings of the bear are a "good news story," others say they are a harbinger of climate change and a warning that governments across the country must learn how to deal with new species as traditional habitat is destroyed.
Grizzly bears used to roam the prairies, including southeast of Winnipeg. The first European settlers came across the bears, but most of them were gone by the 1800s, Mr. Watkins said. The new bears appear to be coming from Nunavut to look for food, but could end up staying.
"If we do get grizzly bears back in the north, that's probably the best place for them, because there is no conflict with humans most of the time," Mr. Watkins said. "People in the north are already used to dealing with polar bears, so what's another bear?" Muskox and swift fox haven't been seen in the province yet, but Mr. Watkins said populations are rebounding in neighbouring regions, so it's possible the animals may move back to Manitoba. The wildlife act helps to protect their habitat and makes it easier to prosecute hunters.
Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands, said governments around the world will have to adapt as climate change drives species from their traditional habitat. Grizzly bears, which have been known to range for thousands of kilometres, are probably being pushed southward because of changes in permafrost and the growing unpredictability of winter, she said.
"We're going to have species shifting their range because of climate change and potentially being at different, new or greater risk," she said. "They're trying to get away from one risk, so they are shifting their ranges and moving into areas they haven't been." Carl Morrison, grizzly bear campaigner with the Sierra Club of Canada, said the bears are particularly threatened in Alberta, which population studies suggest has fewer of the animals than previously believed. The government has banned an annual grizzly bear hunt for the past few years.
Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton said it makes sense to protect the hulking mammals because they are an "umbrella species." "By protecting habitat for grizzlies, you essentially protect a host of other plants and animals that fall under that umbrella of protection," he said. The bears are also an indication of the state of the environment, he added. "If you start to see grizzlies blinking out of existence, that speaks to something larger than just the loss of the species."
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PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2009.03.03
PAGE: A7
BYLINE: CHINTA PUXLEY
SECTION: National News
SOURCE: CP
EDITION: Metro
DATELINE: Winnipeg MB
WORDS: 579
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Recent sightings of grizzly bears - extinct from Manitoba for a century - have raised hopes the Canadian mammal may be making a comeback.
They've also prompted the provincial government to add the bears and other extirpated animals such as swift foxes and muskox to the list of species protected under the wildlife act. Biologists say the bears have been spotted in the northern part of the province and need more protection to encourage the animals to settle back in Manitoba.
"When there are so few of them, anything happening to them would be catastrophic," said Bill Watkins, wildlife biologist with the Conservation Department.
"If you only have two or three bears in the province and one or two of them were poached, then that's the end of the reoccupation.
It's important to protect these bears while they're so small in number and hopefully allow them to grow until we hit some sort of critical number for breeding population." While the province says increased sightings of the bear are a "good news story," others say they are a harbinger of climate change and a warning that governments across the country must learn how to deal with new species as traditional habitat is destroyed.
Grizzly bears used to roam the prairies, including southeast of Winnipeg. The first European settlers came across the bears, but most of them were gone by the 1800s, Mr. Watkins said. The new bears appear to be coming from Nunavut to look for food, but could end up staying.
"If we do get grizzly bears back in the north, that's probably the best place for them, because there is no conflict with humans most of the time," Mr. Watkins said. "People in the north are already used to dealing with polar bears, so what's another bear?" Muskox and swift fox haven't been seen in the province yet, but Mr. Watkins said populations are rebounding in neighbouring regions, so it's possible the animals may move back to Manitoba. The wildlife act helps to protect their habitat and makes it easier to prosecute hunters.
Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands, said governments around the world will have to adapt as climate change drives species from their traditional habitat. Grizzly bears, which have been known to range for thousands of kilometres, are probably being pushed southward because of changes in permafrost and the growing unpredictability of winter, she said.
"We're going to have species shifting their range because of climate change and potentially being at different, new or greater risk," she said. "They're trying to get away from one risk, so they are shifting their ranges and moving into areas they haven't been." Carl Morrison, grizzly bear campaigner with the Sierra Club of Canada, said the bears are particularly threatened in Alberta, which population studies suggest has fewer of the animals than previously believed. The government has banned an annual grizzly bear hunt for the past few years.
Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton said it makes sense to protect the hulking mammals because they are an "umbrella species." "By protecting habitat for grizzlies, you essentially protect a host of other plants and animals that fall under that umbrella of protection," he said. The bears are also an indication of the state of the environment, he added. "If you start to see grizzlies blinking out of existence, that speaks to something larger than just the loss of the species."
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PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2009.03.03
PAGE: A7
BYLINE: CHINTA PUXLEY
SECTION: National News
SOURCE: CP
EDITION: Metro
DATELINE: Winnipeg MB
WORDS: 579
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