Albertans asked to help solve wildlife crime

[crazy_davey]

Albertans asked to help solve wildlife crime involving grizzly bears

Peace River... Alberta Sustainable Resource Development's Fish and Wildlife officers are seeking public assistance as they continue to investigate an incident earlier this month in northwestern Alberta that has left two grizzly bears dead.

On October 9, an oilfield worker driving down a remote road about 160 kilometres west of Manning (100 kilometres north of Peace River) spotted what looked like a dead bear just off the road in the bush. Fish and Wildlife officers responded and discovered two dead grizzly bears about five metres apart.

The remains were examined at the Fish and Wildlife Forensic Lab in Edmonton. One was a six-year-old male, the other a two-year-old, the ### of which could not be determined. An autopsy revealed that the younger bear had been shot. The cause of death of the older grizzly could not determined. Judging by the state of decomposition of the two bears, it appears the younger one died several days before the other and that the older bear had consumed part of the younger bear's remains.

Anyone with information that would assist in solving this wildlife crime is asked to contact a local Fish and Wildlife Division office or call the toll-free Report A Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800. The Report A Poacher line is open 24 hours and anyone who provides information can remain anonymous and could qualify for a reward.

The maximum penalty for poaching grizzly bears in Alberta is a $100,000 fine and/or up to two years in jail.

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Media inquiries may be directed to:

Lyle Fullerton
Information Officer
Fish and Wildlife Division
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
(780) 624-6496


Dave Ealey
Communications Branch
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
(780) 427-8636

To call toll-free within Alberta dial 310-0000.

 

[9mikemike]

This needs a bump.....what #######s...

 

[Republic of Alberta]

Remember when a Grizz (named Mary)was killed a few years ago and the meidia was calling it a "murder"?

 

[crazy_davey]

Remember when a Grizz (named Mary)was killed a few years ago and the meidia was calling it a "murder"?

I remember that...

Hinton, Alberta is an industry town. People live there because there's a pulp mill, there's oil and gas. Tourists visit because Jasper National Park is on the other side of the mountains.

And until recently, people went to Hinton for another reason, too – a grizzly bear named Mary.

Mary lived outside of the town. She raised her cubs there. Families would drive out to pay her visit. She was featured in magazines and on posters. Mary the grizzly bear was a celebrity.

But a few months ago, Hinton's favourite bear died a violent death.


Mary
"It appears that this bear had been shot and we found the remains of the carcass right in the area we are standing now," says biologist Gord Stenhouse, who is still piecing together what happened. "We then suspect predators dragged her over carcass down here."

Stenhouse knew Mary as well as anyone can know a bear. He had studied her for four years. He suspects she was the victim of a new sport in Alberta – drive-by poaching.

"My guess is someone shot from the road or drove down into the ditch and killed the bear within metres of the road," says Stenhouse.


Mary's carcass
It's an awful picture but the gruesome reality of Mary's death consists of a skeleton and few clues.

"How did I feel? Saddened," says Stenhouse. "She wasn't a problem bear. She didn't get into trouble. She wasn't into garbage. She just lived where people lived."

"This bear had shown us she was willing to get along to live with us. But what she couldn't tolerate was someone with a gun deciding she shouldn't be on the landscape anymore."

"As the number of years went on, we found more bears that had been shot... It doesn't seem to be an anomaly."

And then a few weeks later, poachers killed another member of Mary's family, her cub.

 

[Calum]

Perhaps someone with "special status".