Gray Wolves Need Help NOW!

The removal of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List is moving fast. This is a mostly seperate issue from the Alsakan wovles. The problem is that Wyoming and Idaho intend to immediately kill most of the wolves as soon as they are removed from the list. This Natural Resources Defence Council's recent wolf news letter gives the numbers of wolves each state plans to massacre. What's the point of removing these animals from the list if they are going to be back on shortly after they're taken off it?

NRDC Wolf News

Also, remember that our Vice President Cheney is from Wyoming. I think no matter how many people protest, the plan will go through anyway.

NRDC is also planning to run a national commmercial to educate people on this issue and help stop these state's horrendous plans from becoming a reality. I do not care to ask for donations, but I feel this commercial will have widespread effect and is worth it. And the timing is urgent. Click the NRDC link below and choose the wolf's picture labeled "Call Off the Guns".

NRDC Website

The best thing anyone can do now (and I mean NOW)is send letters and sign petitions-and it is free. Send them to the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Ed Bangs is the top wolf guy with them. This man has a hard job but we need to let him know what we think before it is too late and the bodies of dead wolves are piled up all over again.

National News May Add To Bear Troubles

Well, our bears made it to the national morning news shows this morning. Good Morning America or the Today Show. Maybe both. Quote: "The bears are wandering into places they don't belong." I laughed loudly at that statement but underneath I was quite irritated and disgusted. What a fantastic way to compound fears into the public. And how misinformed the public is about the nature and history of bears. I feel I have no choice but to write a compelling arguement to U. S. Fish, Wildlife, & Parks bear management experts and to leeader of these "bear ridden" towns to propose some changes to current bear management practices. Obviously, what we are doing now is not working. It is time comsuming and expensive to tranquilize and transport or euthanize bears every time they roam into "human" terrritory. It is traumatic to bears and to humans who have encounters with the bears. The money may be better spent elsewhere. I have certain things in mind but I will not discuss them at this time. I need to get my head straight and get it all down on paper in a professional manner.

Up A Tree With A Small Solution

Of all the bears in Kalispell lately, only 2 of them came into town attracted by grease spills (the food kind, not the auto kind). The rest of the "problem" bears were attracted to plum and apple trees in peoples' yards. After becoming awarw of this information, I though, "This problem can be addressed differently now to sharply limit these incidences." What I propose is to pass a city ordinance forbidding the planting of fruit trees within the city limits (or wherever necessary). Of course, this will not be well accepted because people want to do what they want to do, and they do enjoy a fruit tree in the yard, but it has the potential to decrease human/bear interactions especially when bears are hungriest and roaming more in search of food.

Alaska's Wolf Massacre Must End!

© Defenders of Wildlife

PLEASE HELP THESE WOLVES:

DEFENDER'S ALASKAN WOLVES INFORMATION & ACTION LINK

Then scroll down below the map to read about more bear happenings.

Even More Bear Woes!

Here's another post about bears. Getting sick of hearing about them? Well, I am tired of being bombarded with news of "problem" bears causing problems for people. Today I came home in time to watch the news. Kalispell, Montana has bear problems. One black bear was shot dead because it was in a yard and trying to get in the house for food. The life of one old grizzly is now at stake because it has been going around doing the same thing. DNA was used on fur samples to incriminate this old guy. No doubt about it, he will be dead when they find him. 10 more grizzlies are being relocated for being "troublesome". Take a good look at the map. Where is Kalispell located? Far from bear country? No, right in the middle of it-surrounded by 3 national forests, a Native Reservation, and Glacier National Park! Indeed, these bears are trying to adapt to human encroachment on their natural turf. They are trying to get whatever food is easily available-who wouldn't?

Somewhere, somehow, someway, somebody (of power and influence or the weaker masses banded together) must do something! Surely I am not the only one that sees the large picture of what is happening to these bears (also many other animals). What I am talking about is a complete overhaul on the way these so-called "problem" animals are looked at in the first place. The problem animals are us. We are the only animals that have the power to change the world for ourselves and all other species. We are moving more and more into the only homes animals have left then we claim it as our own but we don't want to deal with the problems we have created. Then animals die. Animals are being mismanaged to death at the whims of our society that refuses to take responsiblity for the whole mess we are soley responsible for. I am sick of it. (If ever I wanted to post curse words, this is it!)

Yes, I do toss and turn in bed at night thinking about this kind of stuff. And yes, tears do come to my eyes when I see little or no hope for these situations. I've said it before and I will say it again-shame on us! I believe God is not happy with what we are doing to this Earth.

Recent Bear Attacks

Photo: Note how I am far away from these mom & cub grizzly bears!

Within the last couple of weeks, 2 or 3 hunters have been attacked by grizzly moms with cubs. After being attacked, one hunter shot at a griz mom in self-defense. The bear and cubs took off and have not been located since. The hunter is not sure if the bear was hit so it may be running around wounded, dead, or hopefully doing fine.

The worst thing I could imagine is getting mauled by a grizzly. I have a huge fear of it myself. However,when you are out in bear habitat in the fall bears will be out preparing for winter. Not a good time to disturb them. And certainly a worse time to disturb a mom with cubs. For the safety of bears and humans maybe hunting season should be scheduled at a different time. Of course, I prefer never but that is unrealistic. A wounded bear may not be able to survive the winter. A dead bear with cubs left behind is just as bad. A wounded bear with cubs makes it harder for the whole family's survival. Accidents will always happen, but sneaking around the woods when bears are very active just heightens the chances of an attack. This is as bad on the bears as it is on the person. If a bear feels threatened it will attack-no maybe about it. If a bear smells an elk carcass left by a hunter, it will be attracted to it for a good meal. That's just what bears do. Even hikers need to be more aware and respect bears natural instincts at this time.

What really worries me is that all this publicity about bears attacking will put even more bear fears into people. The Yellowstone grizzly population had been removed from the Threatened and Endangered Species List this past spring. Perhaps with all these tales of bear attacks lately, there will be great pressure to permit a hunt on these great animals earlier than planned. From my understanding, it is still supposed to be a few years before grizzly hunting becomes an issue but trigger-happy hunters will be itching to get rid of these "problem" bears now.

Good News For Southwestern Wolves

(Mexican Wolf photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Image Library)

Indeed, the following is great news!

As reported by Defenders of Wildlife:

On June 26, 2007, The U.S. House of Representatives rejected an amendment to the Interior Department's spending bill that would have ended funding for southwest wolf recovery efforts. The proposal was defeated on a vote of 258-172.

In just over 24 hours, more than 31,000 wildlife supporters wrote their U.S. Representatives in support of federal efforts to save the 59 remaining southwest wolves and ensure this amazing animal's future in the Southwest, urging their Members of Congress to reject the amendment offered by New Mexico Representative Steve Pearce.

A big thanks to all who wrote in to support these animals.

Alaska's Polar Bears Disappearing

As we've been hearing for some time now, polar bears are in big trouble due to global warming. Scientists report that these bears will be completely gone from Alaska by 2020 the ways things are going now. The Earth naturally falls into and out of warming and freezing cycles even if today's trend is mostly human-caused, hence we have periods of ice ages that come and go. Inevitably, the environment will change for polar bears (and everything else) naturally but since we are adding so much to this warming trend, we have the responsibility to repair what we can to keep these bears around in the wild.

National Geographic Polar Bear Information


Photo: www.komar.org/faq/churchill_polar_bear_tours/

A New Tag Game

This is a blogging tip game. It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers.

Try to make your tip general. After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think– if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn.
http://www.neonscent.com****

2. Be EXCELLENT to each other.
http://www.bushmackel.com*****

3. Don’t let money change ya!
http://www.therandomforest.info****

4. Always reply to your comments
http://chattiekat.com***

5. Blog about what you know & love.
http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com****

6. Don't use filthy language-buy a dictionary.
http://shinade.blogspot.com***

7. Whenever possible, spread some positive thoughts and love. The world needs more of them.
http://ailema4ever.blogspot.com***

8. Write down from your heart or head. Either way asks yourself why you ever get started.*
http://chocmintgirl.blogspot.com

9. Be honest, be tactful but honest.*
http://angelofdelusion.blogspot.com

10. Adding photos can help bring others into a more personal realm with you.
http://wildlifealive.blogspot.com

OK, I will not be able to tag 10 people but I will list some:
1. Creation on the Blade/ Life on the Blade
2. Astrogalaxy

A Day In The Mountains

Part of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Enjoyed a nice day hike here. The trail I was on just stayed along the valley - very little elevation change. No large wildlife was around. Although, as I was getting a meal after the trip, locals were anxiously discussing the start of hunting season. A sign was posted about a non-human fearing adult black bear in the area but the Ranger said there had been no sightings or signs of bears reported in some time. On my way back home, a large buck deer jumped out across the road but I was lucky enough to see him in time to stop.


A squirrel eating pinecones along the trail.

Finally Some Peace

I am back after a long needed mental break. I still miss my Tidy and Kitty but I find great comfort knowing that they are together and were never apart for very long. Actually I am surprisingly calmed by this fact. Now in addition to the newest cat Alice, I have a guinea pig that I picked up from the city animal shelter. This guinea looks just like a raisin with legs, hence it new name Raisin. Change is sometimes hard but that doesn't mean it's not positive.

On a sad note, there are 500 deer living in Helena. Montana. They are proposing to kill 350 of them to keep the population down. I know this is a lot of deer to be running around a city but when we are in their natural habitat what do we expect? I feel bad for these deer. They are just trying to co-exist with us. I guess a few more mountain homes can be decorated with dead animal heads this fall. Guaranteed mine will not be one of them!


I spent a couple days camping in Yellowstone last week to see what was happening at the Hayden Pack's den. I never saw the white wolf or the pups this time. One evening another wolf came out (gray colored). The herd of buffalo in the picture is standing directly in front of the den area. The huge male had a pretty much useless right hind leg but he was still the obvious leader of the herd. That buffalo had the loudest snorting I've ever heard-even clear across the river from him. He had a hard time getting back out of the river but on land not much trouble. The herd quickly ran up the hill behind the den. What happened to the big buffalo - did a wolf or bite its hamstring to bring it down? Did a grizzly get sick of it following too close and decide to tell it to back off (I have watched buffalo several times closely following bears)? Did it trip on a rock and hurt the leg? I'll never know but does make me think about the possiblities of nature. Heck, it could have tangled it's leg up on a camp chair put out roadside by crazy tourists.

I got to watch a wolf pup one afternoon in the Dunraven area. Just frolicking by a tiny stream and pouncing at voles and gophers. Another evening, I watched a black wolf and a gray wolf doing the same thing in the same area. Wolves doing wolf business on a late summer's day-how cool! Several coyotes were doing the same thing throughout the Park. A mom and cub black bear made there way down a hill close to the road. A grizzly made its way across the road as I was driving by. It was grazing. Another grizzly was camped out in a treed patch on Mt. Washburn. The buffalo calves are not orange any more. Saw 3 moose this time-one pair was a mom and baby. A pair of deer wandered the campsite as I set up the tent. Only saw one elk herd. No shortage of wildlife for sure.

So where are the pictures of all these great animals? My luck-the batteries in the camera ran out. Oh, I did take 2 sets of rechargeable back-ups but they did not work in my camera for some odd reason - they are exactly the same as the old batteries. Also my memory card was full since I forgot to take my last pictures off of the camera. The wolves were too far away anyway for pictures. I had the trusty spotting scope out for those guys. At least I still have a picture perfect memory (for this type of thing anyway).


Yellowstone Lake: The largest alpine lake in North America. The waves are as big as the oceans' at times.

Now I have one more day hike tomorrow in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness before settling into the daily grind.