The Spring Bear Hunt

The following document was written a number of years ago, but with the recent talk amongst some people and grumblings from a particular hunting lobby group about reintroducing the spring bear hunt, I thought it would be prudent to re-publish this article which was written and published just prior to the Spring Bear Hunt cancellation.

On occasion over the last few years, I have discussed the issue of spring bear hunting with Ron, a well-known and respected wildlife biologist and author of over 21 books.

We both oppose spring bear hunting for several reasons and feel that it should be banned outright.

I'm sure there may be bear hunters reading this suggesting that I don't have my facts straight; I'm over-reacting, and that I don't have a clear picture of what is actually happening 'out there'. However this is not the case.

For many years I have extensively read, studied, and observed black bears. I have spoken with experts in bear research, and read many books and reports on their physiology and behaviour. I have also been interviewed for a two-part television special on bear poaching and the illegal international trade in bear parts.  As a result, I naturally became interested in the issue of spring bear hunting.

As far as I can see the killing of spring black bear is cause for concern and should be stopped, if only because female bears and their young are frequent targets for careless or lawless hunters. An individual, perched in a tree after a nearby area has been baited with carrion to attract a bear, cannot tell the difference between male and female bears. The only way to discern between a male and female bear is in a situation where the female has allowed the cubs to accompany her to the food source. This rarely occurs since the cubs are still nursing at that time of year and extremely vulnerable.

 The mother needs all the food she can eat due to the substantial weight loss caused by hibernation, giving birth and nursing. She needs to concentrate almost exclusively on eating to replace depleted fat reserves and as a result, finds this easier to do by normally keeping the cubs hidden in the forest. Consequently, this leaves the mother bear vulnerable.

When the mother bear is killed, spring bear cubs are abandoned and will almost certainly die of starvation unless rescued by humans which is not commonplace.

The female black bear's reproduction is slow, since they do not reach sexual maturity until between the ages of five and seven. When the female is ready to reproduce, she gives birth to two or three cubs, with two being the norm. However, if a mother bear is killed at this time of year there is a domino effect with the result being the deaths of three or four bears rather than just one.

When too many adult females begin to be killed off, replacement of their populations can be extremely slow, taking 10 years or more to replenish their numbers. The slow replacement of adult females translates into fewer cubs being born. Couple this with the fact that less than 30 percent of cubs orphaned in the spring survive, and it becomes evident that a dangerous numbers- game is being played.

When one examines these statistics and the realities of black bear physiology, compelling reasons to discontinue a spring bear hunt become clear.

In the book WILD HUNTERS, Predators In Peril, (Key Porter Books) authored by Monte Hummel - president of World Wildlife Fund Canada and writer Sherry Pettigrew, they say, " Black bears are abundant enough to withstand some hunting, but it is time to abolish or revise outdated practices that lead to an excessively large number of black bears being killed in Canada. Even though such a move will be controversial and vigorously opposed, spring black bear-hunting should not be continued. Fall hunting-season dates should be adjusted to protect female bears".

Put simply, the spring bear hunt is neither ethical, nor is it sound wildlife management.

I'd like to share with readers a particular incident which took place not long ago during the month of May.

 An Ontario Provincial Police officer was called to investigate the sound of a crying baby at the bottom of a garbage dump located just north of Parry Sound, Ontario. When the officer arrived, he acknowledged the sound of a baby's cries coming from the bottom of the garbage pit.

He climbed down the hill of refuse and found a very young bear cub close to death. The cub, laying very still and covered in flies, had been shot with an arrow from a high-powered cross bow during the spring bear hunt.

The quarrel had not penetrated through the cub's body, but had ripped open a gash along its side.

The injury had rendered the cub so weak and the wound became so infected, that it had literally not been able to move for days. Because of this, both its front paws had atrophied in a curled position beneath its body. Not only had the cub been shot and made to suffer, but it was now orphaned and crippled!

Fortunately, the kind officer felt there remained hope for the cub's recovery and removed it from the stinking filth that ultimately would have been the baby bear's death bed.

The bear was taken to a wildlife sanctuary where it was nurtured back to health and its front paws treated. It is now back where it belongs and free to live as nature intended. This story has a happy ending but because of the spring bear-hunt, many others don't.

The cub's paws never completely returned to normal, but were still functional enough that it could be released into the wild and be able to utilize them for territory marking, digging grubs and making a quick exit if the need arose.

Mounting evidence appears to defend the position that there is no justifiable reason, other than a purely economic one, that the hunt is of any value.

A strong argument can be made that if one must hunt bear for the "sport" then surely this could be carried out in the fall so as to allow these mammals, (primarily mothers with cubs), a fighting chance at survival.

Ron commented to me that politicians who favour spring bear hunting see the animals as potential vote getters while forgetting that American hunters don't vote here, or they see them as providers of provincial or municipal funds. Others outside political circles, see the hunt as revenue because of the belief it brings in tourist dollars.

It could, however, be successfully argued that the high number of killed mother bears and the resulting numbers of orphaned and killed cubs flies in the face of any attempt at legitimizing and defending the spring bear hunt solely on the basis of  possible votes, municipal funds or tourist dollars.

In other words, the combined suffering, ecological and collateral damage, and death inflicted by the spring bear-hunt does not justify the politics, tourist dollars, or other speculated economic stimulus.

Ron and I also discussed bear baiting and agreed that it is a questionable and rather unscrupulous form of hunting. My friend conceded that bear baiting is like "shooting fish in a barrel" , and further commented that,. "it's unsporting", "it requires no skill."

"The hunter sits in a tree stand and simply waits for the poor bear,( who is only following its nose to the bait station) and then shoots it. Where is the sport in that?"  I agreed and said that this form of so-called 'sport'- hunting is a far cry from traditional moose and deer hunting, (I am personally not opposed to very traditional rifle hunting for deer or moose), where the hunter heads out into the bush and works for it.

Clearly, an increasing number of people, including some from the hunting public are beginning to question just how 'sporting' this form of hunting is and it is no longer 'hiding under the radar'.

He continued, relating a story about rescuing a bear cub. He said, "I rescued him one spring when I heard crying in the bush.

Following the sound, I found him pressing himself against the rotting carcass of his mother. The female had been wounded by a spring bear hunter and had died out of reach of her killer, despite having had her left lung pierced by one bullet and her left front paw almost severed by another slug; the survivor's sister had also been wounded. She too had been dead for a number of days.

He said, "The stench was better left imagined! I took the emaciated, young bear home with me, sedated and medicated him, then nursed him back to health. He spent 21 months with us, went for walks in the bush, played with our dog and was a part of our household.

"Gradually, we encouraged him to return to his world, but for the next four years, he would visit us occasionally, accepting some peanuts or better yet, a couple of peanut butter and honey sandwiches."

Sadly this story came to a tragic end. Bitterly,' Ron said, "One spring he was shot." Why did it have to end this way?"

Serious questions remain in terms of where black bears are headed in Ontario and for that matter, across Canada.

During a chat I had with Monte Hummel, (president, World Wildlife Fund Canada) we also both expressed concern that poaching and the animal parts trade is another menace threatening "Blacky" populations. Monte said that the black bear's future is a definite concern.

Although hard to imagine, because black bear are so prolific, there may come a time in the not too distant future where these creatures could cease to exist. Some may shake their heads and think it could never happen, BUT it's not impossible. Crazier things have happened.

Whether conservationist, hunter, or naturalist, no one wants to see this occur, because in the end, we all lose.

Losing the black bear would be like losing the magnificent African Elephant or the White Rhino, both of which have been almost entirely eradicated by poachers and big game sportsmen.

It is of paramount importance that black bear and other species be managed solely on the basis of GOOD SCIENCE. This criteria should be first and foremost when protecting the black bear as well as all other animal populations, rather than having sound decisions too heavily influenced and over-shadowed by economics, politics, and/or lobbying pressure.

Regretfully, governments in Canada often appear to allow these factors to play too large a role in wildlife management decisions. Hopefully Ontario will look at the facts and make the correct choice.

It is hoped by many that good science will prevail at the end of the day, and be the one and only determining factor in influencing the government to stop the spring bear-hunt.