it is known as well that wolf are not preying on moose and caribou ... we ll see how it will manage the herbivors there ...

Did they leave the big boars alive and the sows with cubs? How selective was this?

It would be interesting to know who suggested and who approved this, as it’s been shown that only a small percentage of bears selectively target calves in the spring and since they wander among the overall population of bear , in order to be effective you need to kill a high percentage of all the population in order to possible reach those bears .

It’s 1800’s management

Interesting I thought and although I live right there I didn't know anything until after it was over. Appropriate I guess.

I am under the impression that the bear relocation program around McGrath about fifteen years ago was successful in helping the moose calving success. Not to long ago someone in the know told me they thought there were more bears in Dillingham city limits than outside.
Dillingham is in the hunting unit this cull took place in. If that estimation was true, I suppose there's darned few bears now.

The annual limit on brown bears has been two per hunter for years in an effort to reduce bear numbers.

Although I'd have no interest in participating I'm not particularly sorry they shot a bunch and I doubt there's many in Dillingham that are. I like having them around and was really excited a month or so ago to see a rolly polly brand new cub nearby my place. Looked like a fuzzy, round cocker spaniel. but they can be a pain.

Bristol Bays salmon returns have been pretty robust for a couple decades now and id think the bear population outside the cull area will quickly refill the gap.

quote:

Originally posted by medved:
it is known as well that wolf are not preying on moose and caribou... we ll see how it will manage the herbivors there ...

it is known as well that wolf are not preying on moose and caribou

When did Wolves stop eating moose? I found 30 or so Wolf killed, partially eaten carcasses this winter.
Maybe the Kenai Peninsula needs to send their Wolves to eating School?

quote:

Originally posted by tsturm:

quote:

Originally posted by medved:
it is known as well that wolf are not preying on moose and caribou... we ll see how it will manage the herbivors there ...

it is known as well that wolf are not preying on moose and caribou

When did Wolves stop eating moose? I found 30 or so Wolf killed, partially eaten carcasses this winter.
Maybe the Kenai Peninsula needs to send their Wolves to eating School?

Could be wrong, but I think Phil was being sarcastic.

I agree with Phil, this is 1800s "game management" when they killed all of the wolves, eagles and grizzlies to protect cattle and sheep herds. If they had spared the big boars and sows with cubs I could understand them calling this game management. If they didn't this was just a slaughter. Every one in upper management of Alaska Fish and Game should be fired.

Liberals are Taking over Fish and Wildlife. They have DESTROYED everything here in Washington State!!!

Smells like rotten salmon to me.

I hunted brown bears in that area some years ago. On my first hunt I never even saw a bear. Another hunter in camp saw ten in five days, shot a bear and went back to Iowa to harvest corn.

The outfitter told me that they wanted me to come back the next year to get a bear. I would only have to pay for food. That was too kind so I offered and he accepted gladly $3,000.

I saw a small bear on the first day and shot a nice boar on day #2.

I would have been in a bloody rage if they had killed 94 bears just before I arrived.

The outfitters and the local hunters must be really upset. The bear hunters, that is.

Nature cycle, as long as there is prey then the predators will show up and their populations will increase until the prey animals are decimated then the predators will disappear by disease or move on to somewhere else. Now as a species ourselves do we prefer caribou/moose or predators for a food source? sometimes man has to step in to even the ratio but maybe more gradual, like Biden stop oil production instead of eases into a fuel transition. sevaral yers back I did a caribou hunt in the Mulchatna river basin and the population was in a serious decline. I hope to have seen the tremedous herds but all I saw was maybe 150, should have moved to a different area

quote:

Originally posted by scruffy:
I hunted brown bears in that area some years ago. On my first hunt I never even saw a bear. Another hunter in camp saw ten in five days, shot a bear and went back to Iowa to harvest corn.

The outfitter told me that they wanted me to come back the next year to get a bear. I would only have to pay for food. That was too kind so I offered and he accepted gladly $3,000.

I saw a small bear on the first day and shot a nice boar on day #2.

I would have been in a bloody rage if they had killed 94 bears just before I arrived.

The outfitters and the local hunters must be really upset. The bear hunters, that is.

I wondered about the bear hunters.

I am not under the impression that the resident hunters of Unit 17 are to sore. Id think those non resident bear hunters scheduled for this fall are a bit irritated.

Sometimes you just give game department high five
Of course, moose hunter will, bear hunter will grumble

Bear outfitters and hunter bear limits should have been doubled or tripled in the area.

Even in Africa they are careful with culling
elephants raiding native maize fields.
Even in the 1920s the USGovt Predator Control policy was active in the lower-48. Ben Lilly with an 1886 Winchester killed bears from Mexico to Arizona for rancher bounty. Cats and bears.

After an Alaskan hunter has killed 25 or 35 Alaskan Costal Brown Bears. The excitement is gone. After 70 moose, you prefer going hungry, to processing those monsters.

quote:

Originally posted by Alaskan Sourdough:
After an Alaskan hunter has killed 25 or 35 Alaskan Costal Brown Bears. The excitement is gone. After 70 moose, you prefer going hungry, to processing those monsters.

I must be a slow learner as after 44 years of guiding I still get excited every season

So Phil- Are you saying that just this cull was inappropriate? I was wondering about the data on wolf reductions and the results with caribou and Moose numbers. Maybe they just wanted them out of town as Scott suggests.
Many years ago I ran into a bio who was tagging elk calves in the Selway, N.Idaho. Asked him how his work was progressing and he told me that on the calves they had collared there was a 100% mortality by black bears. The study was to gather data on why the elk population seemed to be crashing. Guess he found out.

The state has not shared any of their statistics, nor reasoning for the cull with me but I do know that what often is sold as “biology” is politically motivated.

Numerous F&G studies, as well as my personal observations of the past half century, have shown that only a very small percentage of bears are responsible for the majority of calf predation and since there is no way to discern which ones they are, an inordinate number of bears would need to be killed in order to make any significant difference.