I appreciated the great article by John Moritz on bear searching in Connecticut, revealed Dec. 31. Nonetheless, I want to give some extra data to the readers.
At present, feminine Connecticut black bears give beginning to a median of two.1 cubs per yr, an especially excessive breeding charge for this species, and bears in Connecticut breed at a youthful age than is typical for bears in different areas. What this factors to the long run is a quickly rising inhabitants with a corresponding enhance in bear-human conflicts. At present, bears contribute to agricultural issues by destroying beehives, destroying livestock and damaging cornfields. In addition they trigger nuisance issues and public questions of safety after they happen in residential areas. Knowledge from bear hunts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania present that disturbed bears are harvested at a better charge than non-irritating bears. Due to this fact, a well-managed bear hunt in Connecticut can be an efficient wildlife administration instrument.
A searching season will enable DEEP to reply to this rising inhabitants proactively somewhat than reactively. That is accountable wildlife administration. A bear searching season can exert some inhabitants management, and profitable hunters can use a few of this useful resource as tasty domestically produced natural protein. Equally necessary is that searching helps reverse the development the place bears lose their concern of people. This enables bears and people to coexist with much less battle.
Lastly, with all due respect, the Connecticut Bear Conservation Coalition’s designation of a hunt as “loot searching” reveals the group’s lack of any understanding of wildlife administration.
Greg Chasko
wildlife biologist
#bear #searching #accountable #answer
