Alaska's rationale for hunting to control grizzly populations makes no sense | Leggett

Alaska wildlife officials, normally so careful with grizzly bear numbers and hunting mortality, have done something that seems harsh and unwise.

In an effort to revive the famed Mulchatna caribou herd, the department has shot and killed as many as 175 grizzlies, including cubs, along with various wolves and black bears. The grizzlies were killed mostly by being shot from helicopters and airplanes, something we’ve done here in Texas with coyotes as ranchers try to protect sheep and goats.

It’s an extreme measure with an unknown effect on caribou numbers. Bears are not serious predators of caribou, though I’m sure they will kill a caribou calf if they stumble upon one.

One question that arises out of this mess is why Alaska officials couldn’t announce a one- or two-time special hunting period that would have let hunters trim the bear numbers and would have meant some serious money for the state and bear guides in the region southwest of Anchorage. I have no interest in killing a grizzly bear, but other hunters do and would pay plenty for the chance.

I’ve hunted caribou within sight of the Mulchatna River and can bear witness to the steep decline in herd numbers in the area. When we hunted there 30 years ago, we saw great herds of caribou. The hunting was just a matter of flying into an area with lots of animals and then picking a good spot to set up a tent and get to a high spot to glass for animals passing by. There was really nothing to it.

But that was then, and this is now. Veteran hunters and guides in the region will talk about the sparse numbers of caribou there. The real question, though, is whether grizzly bears are the cause of the herd’s demise.

Those would have to be some hungry grizzlies to accomplish that. And invariably, whenever there’s an imbalance in predator/prey numbers, it can be traced back to humans. Maybe there’s proof that bears could be the cause of the loss of tens of thousands of native caribou out there.

Alaska officials have taken a beating in public opinion over the slaughter of the grizzlies, which as apex predators are slow to breed and slow to be able to fill this hole in their population.

Grizzly bears are the poster animal for conservation in Alaska, and anything that could be contributing to their losing any small foothold in the tundra should be approached with extreme caution.

Spare the bears and monitor the caribou before we move ahead with this grotesque parody of wildlife management.