My wife and I went to Tofino (on Vancouver) this last summer where you can rent a boat for a tour of the coastal black bears. Very highly recommend it.
I hope you made a stop in Hot Springs Cove.
That place is magical.
One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
21–30 of 63 posts
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
The marmots are in so few locations and in such small numbers, it seems exceedingly unlikely that it would become an issue. It would be awful if it was a problem though. The marmots have been having record years, and their recovery is really just beginning.
1) Grizzlies are known to ear marmots if they can catch them. Those bears are able to move big stones. One bear that would specialize on open the tunnels and chase the rodents on their nests, could trigger the demise of the wild population in months or weeks. Even before we could notice it. 2) Bears will compete for the same fruits and resources in autumn and have big appetites. Marmots need those fruits to survive w…
I have kinda mixed feelings on this. Protecting an endangered species against human hunting, habitat reduction, or other unnatural dangers makes total sense.
But what's unnatural about grizzlies? Were they introduced onto the island by man? Nope. For that matter, the bears on Kodiak -- how did they get there in the first place? They have plenty of salmon so they probably don't need to eat marmots, if there are any. But maybe they wiped out other species we don't know about.
What are you going to do to protect them against other natural predators? And why not introduce them into other suitable habitats, like we've done with wolves in the US? Then we wouldn't be so dependent on one island.
Edit: this is in marked contrast to New Zealand trying to eliminate the stoats and other introduced mammals who are not native and are wiping out the bird species who are. The bears got there on their own.
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#23How would they avoid inbreeding and genetic mutations if only a single bloodline existed there?
I think the grizzlies will take care of that on their own. Either some bears from the island will swim to the mainland, or vice versa. Note: don't ask for a link on that. I just suspect animals prefer not to mate with their siblings.
The article says "As the first known female grizzly on Vancouver Island, she could be the progenitor of an entirely new, self-sustaining grizzly population—the first in as many as 12,500 years".
They might be waiting for a long time for other bears to come
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's time that we start to make room once again for the animals we almost drove to extinction. This would be a good, controlled setting to see if we can do this responsibly.
For good reason. Brown bears eat people. You are no more than a slow meal to them. Coexistence means accepting that people will be eaten by bears or bears will be killed by people defending themselves. I think it is worth noting that native tribes prepared for war if the needed to kill a brown bear.
> Attacks on humans, though widely reported, are generally rare.
Brown bears prefer salmon to geezers who talk big, for certain.
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the grizzlies will take care of that on their own. Either some bears from the island will swim to the mainland, or vice versa. Note: don't ask for a link on that. I just suspect animals prefer not to mate with their siblings.
The article says "As the first known female grizzly on Vancouver Island, she could be the progenitor of an entirely new, self-sustaining grizzly population—the first in as many as 12,500 years". They might be waiting for a long time for other bears to come
The authorities could always bring over some other ones, if that's really what they want.
In any case, the drive to mate is pretty powerful. I would think a female in heat would swim back to the mainland if that was the only way to find a male.
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#26So are these Grizzlies now an "invasive species" on Vancouver Island?
Explain why or why not you think so!
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#27So are these Grizzlies now an "invasive species" on Vancouver Island? Explain why or why not you think so!
If they swam there, no. Invasive species have to be introduced by humans, by definition! The effect of grizzlies on the island ecosystem is unknown, and that may be more of what you're talking about.
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#28So are these Grizzlies now an "invasive species" on Vancouver Island? Explain why or why not you think so!
If they swam there, no. Invasive species have to be introduced by humans, by definition! The effect of grizzlies on the island ecosystem is unknown, and that may be more of what you're talking about.
> If they swam there, no. Invasive species have to be introduced by humans, by definition!
So what do you call it if humans introduce a species to an island A that's really close to another island B — and then the species happens to make the short hop to island B on its own? In a causal sense, that species would not have made it to island B if not for us introducing it to island A.
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#29> It’s also possible that people perceived grizzlies as more threatening and drove them away from food sources, perhaps even killing them.
Kinda funny that this is framed as a less likely theory.
If it was somewhat uncommon for bears to swim across the strait and there weren’t too many, I think it’s enormously likely that First Nations would have actively seeked to rid themselves of rare problem bears.
Re: One pioneering grizzly and her two cubs appear on Vancouver Island
#30Ofc it's Sayward /s
Vancouver Island is beautiful. If only the people's personalities were just as beautiful as the nature, but stuff may have changed since the mid-2000s.
That said, Richmond was worse.
Is the antique car and hot rod show still a thing in Comox?