Effects Of Grizzly Bears

Grizzly bears of North America have huge cultural significance on native American and European heritage (Kellert, 1994). Indigenous cultures revered these majestic species, its example can be seen in art and literature and Europeans settlers appreciated them for their economic values (Kellert et al., 1996). However, as our society evolved, we became distant from nature and “reverence for the bear was replaced with fear, exploitation, and subordination” (Kellert et al., 1996). Modern culture holds negative perception of them and one of the prime reason for that is the conflict experienced between humans and Grizzly bears. Human-Wildlife conflict, per the proceedings from International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Parks, occurs
Parks Canada provides an estimate of 20,000 Grizzly bears in Canada (regions included: British Columbia, Western Alberta, the Yukon and North Western Territories) (2014). But, a recent study by Sawaya et al. (2012) has suggested that Grizzly Population is already in decline in some parts of Canada such as Banff National Park and the numbers presented by Government of Canada are lower than the reality. Furthermore, The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada cites them as species of special concern (2012). Amid all this, conflicts with humans can make this situation even worse as they can induce human caused mortality of Grizzly bears. Stakeholders have taken actions and measures to address the issue of Human – Grizzly bear conflict; however, no compelling results have been seen so far. Some actions such as aversive conditioning and hunting ends up hurting the population further; thus, contradicting the inherent nature of both conservation biology and animal welfare science. It is evident that Grizzly bear – Human conflict causes significant harm to the animals, and actions taken to resolve this issue are proving to be ineffective. Therefore, for successful results a paradigm shift must be undertaken to focus on conservation and welfare equally. The objective of this paper is to examine the causes and the impacts of the Human – Grizzly bear conflict and management actions taken to resolve it. Furthermore, analyze the implications of the actions in terms of conservation and welfare of Grizzly bears and determine the common goals between conservation biology and animal welfare science regarding the conflict issue and provide alternative suggestion based on the goals and scientific