At least 7 grizzly bears spotted near Sayward

The mayor of Sayward says there are at least seven grizzly bears in and around the north Vancouver Island village, and he’s warning shutterbugs to stay away to protect themselves and the big bruins...

https://theprovince.com/news/local-...ward/wcm/da613c57-3f82-441d-b085-9256f0776d57

I’m. It sure how accurate it was but I have no reason to doubt it but I read a story last week saying CO’s know of at least 28 on the north island right now. Not much of a surprise, probably nothing new either it’s an easy swim for them.
 
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Its normal and expected, that's what happens when current habitat is saturated with a species. It expands, now if only they find those easy to see white fur balls tasty, that would be great. But their "spirit" bears. When an established breading population forms spirit bears could become a thing of the past or at least more in spirit. Maybe if our dumbed down managed by science and not emotions there could be even more. I have yet to see one on the island, have seen 3 less than 1 km from the island. Soon I guess.

HM
 
They are definetly there. I spotted one last summer on the Salmon River just on the edge of Sayward. Saw another on the white river this spring. just above the confluence with the Salmon river.
 
They are definetly there. I spotted one last summer on the Salmon River just on the edge of Sayward. Saw another on the white river this spring. just above the confluence with the Salmon river.

One of our favorite swimming holes is right in that area.
 
Ay yay yay yay yay!

I heard there were 2 near Sayward & saw the mayor's pic of that big boy in the meadow but that many!

And Yes people are idiots we all remember when that child was snatched in Steveston by a Sea Lion-crowds were thick on that dock for weeks afterward with cretinous rubberneckers I've never seen anything so stupid.
 
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I'm no biologist, but it sure seems odd to me the island has never had an established population. With them being common on so many islands from Alaska and through BC, why not Vancouver Island?
 
Its normal and expected, that's what happens when current habitat is saturated with a species. It expands, now if only they find those easy to see white fur balls tasty, that would be great. But their "spirit" bears. When an established breading population forms spirit bears could become a thing of the past or at least more in spirit. Maybe if our dumbed down managed by science and not emotions there could be even more. I have yet to see one on the island, have seen 3 less than 1 km from the island. Soon I guess.

HM
Speaking of science - I'm not seeing any data to support your hypothesis, HM - that the habitat is saturated and the extras are forced on the Island. And the "spirit" bears are white black bears - not grizzlies - which is what this article is about.

As far as Grizzlies go: "Within British Columbia, the Grizzly Bear is listed as “Vulnerable” (Blue-listed) by the BC Conservation Data Center (CDC) and as “Special Concern” (SC) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) (CDC explorer, 2010; Hamilton et al. 2004). The species is not currently listed under the Federal Species at Risk Act (Schedule 1), however, it is listed on the BC Conservation Framework as Priority 2-Goal 2; as such, habitat protection and monitoring are recommended by the provincial government" (Hobbs et al. 2013).
grizzly.jpg
The other narrative I hear is that the fish resources are so poor - the grizzlies are swimming elsewhere to find grub. The caveat I would add is that they are either much better swimmers and/or have better eyesight than black bears. I know 1st hand that black bears have crappy distant eyesight - not as sure about the grizzlies.

Most of the outer Islands on the North & Central Coasts have no bears (exception Princess Royal) - but wolves. The in-between islands (between the outer and the mainland) generally have reduced population sizes of black bears. So - colonization is a slow work in progress wrt bear colonization.

Most of the outer islands also have limited - if any - mountains with snow pack (exception Princess Royal) - which is thought essential for grizzly mom & pup denning. So that might be a factor in grizzly colonization success, as well.

And as far as the "spirit"/kermode bears go - there is a line of them that runs from Terrace in the North to Princess Royal in the South. And black bears close to that line often have rings on their cuffs & necks. Must've been one real fecund & horny white black bear that made that trip North from Princess Royal after glaciation towards Terrace :)
 
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The Kermode faze of Black bears can and do have young of both the Kermode and Black faze of the American Black Bears. As far as eyesight goes I don't know if Grizzlies have better or worse eyesight, but I do know they both have a beyond great sense of smell and that is how they mostly see food, they smell it out.
 
Yup, we got grizzlies. It's change and people don't like it. CO's have been around. There is tape on one of the local trails but who knows who put it up. Bear sightings have been close to the village and school.

People in the Kootenays and other parts of the province co-exist with them so I guess we are up next. Haven't heard of any cubs nor of any livestock killed.

Bears can Island hop to swim here, no biggie.
 
Speaking of science - I'm not seeing any data to support your hypothesis, HM - that the habitat is saturated and the extras are forced on the Island. And the "spirit" bears are white black bears - not grizzlies - which is what this article is about.

As far as Grizzlies go: "Within British Columbia, the Grizzly Bear is listed as “Vulnerable” (Blue-listed) by the BC Conservation Data Center (CDC) and as “Special Concern” (SC) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) (CDC explorer, 2010; Hamilton et al. 2004). The species is not currently listed under the Federal Species at Risk Act (Schedule 1), however, it is listed on the BC Conservation Framework as Priority 2-Goal 2; as such, habitat protection and monitoring are recommended by the provincial government" (Hobbs et al. 2013).
View attachment 52950
The other narrative I hear is that the fish resources are so poor - the grizzlies are swimming elsewhere to find grub. The caveat I would add is that they are either much better swimmers and/or have better eyesight than black bears. I know 1st hand that black bears have crappy distant eyesight - not as sure about the grizzlies.

Most of the outer Islands on the North & Central Coasts have no bears (exception Princess Royal) - but wolves. The in-between islands (between the outer and the mainland) generally have reduced population sizes of black bears. So - colonization is a slow work in progress wrt bear colonization.

Most of the outer islands also have limited - if any - mountains with snow pack (exception Princess Royal) - which is thought essential for grizzly mom & pup denning. So that might be a factor in grizzly colonization success, as well.

And as far as the "spirit"/kermode bears go - there is a line of them that runs from Terrace in the North to Princess Royal in the South. And black bears close to that line often have rings on their cuffs & necks. Must've been one real fecund & horny white black bear that made that trip North from Princess Royal after glaciation towards Terrace :)
Not going to start any argument over the state of BC grizzly population based on science. Todays science depends on whos paying the scientist and the outcome/hypothesis they are to promote. Ask many NGO scientists and grizzlies are endangered, or nearly extinct. We know this is NOT true.

I fully understand the color phases of black bears, (have quite the collection) and yes the Kermode black bear is one, now called spirit bear for emotional/$$$ reasons. My underlying point was when a new species (grizzly who commonly eat black bears) finds a population of whiteish naïve black bears who have no instinct of danger, some may/will be killed/eaten and could become a common Grizzly prey species.

I also read that lack of fish resources are driving bears out. Not sure I believe that, I am sure that some rivers still have vibrant salmon runs, maybe not coho and chinook but rivers still have fish, most bears leaving seam to be males, leading me to align with the other article I recently read about younger males leaving to establish a territory of their own.

Maybe mnts and snowpack may assist female grizzly bears but I do not believe its essential. There are many grizzly populations around the world without this terrain available.

I based my hypothesis on over 100 days spent in those exact areas and populations searching for the old battle scared males over the last 30 years. Prior to BC managing wildlife with politics and emotion. 62 different G bears in 10 days was our best year and now I can see and touch a few reminders every day.

BTW your refs were from, 2004, 2010 and 2013, a different time when BC did manage grizzly bears by utilizing and removing close to 300 mostly older males annually. Strikes only those who understand that possibly now that the older males have saturated shrinking habitat that some (mostly males) would swim a short distance to find a new territory. Lots of non biased world science to back that point for many species.

HM
 
A double whammy in my opinion.

The number of Grizz on the mainland adjacent to Vancouver Island have been increasing over the past 15-20 years. On a spring day cruise you used to see 10 black bears. These days it's no black bears and 3 grizzlies.

The other factor is Pink and Chum runs from Knights Inlet south to the Sunshine coast were the worst ever last fall. Coho and Chinook were poor. It's seriously broken. Grizzlies were rolling rocks on the beaches (for crabs, clams and mussels) in October and November, and not on any of the creeks and rivers.
 
Not going to start any argument over the state of BC grizzly population based on science. Todays science depends on whos paying the scientist and the outcome/hypothesis they are to promote. Ask many NGO scientists and grizzlies are endangered, or nearly extinct. We know this is NOT true.

I fully understand the color phases of black bears, (have quite the collection) and yes the Kermode black bear is one, now called spirit bear for emotional/$$$ reasons. My underlying point was when a new species (grizzly who commonly eat black bears) finds a population of whiteish naïve black bears who have no instinct of danger, some may/will be killed/eaten and could become a common Grizzly prey species.

I also read that lack of fish resources are driving bears out. Not sure I believe that, I am sure that some rivers still have vibrant salmon runs, maybe not coho and chinook but rivers still have fish, most bears leaving seam to be males, leading me to align with the other article I recently read about younger males leaving to establish a territory of their own.

Maybe mnts and snowpack may assist female grizzly bears but I do not believe its essential. There are many grizzly populations around the world without this terrain available.

I based my hypothesis on over 100 days spent in those exact areas and populations searching for the old battle scared males over the last 30 years. Prior to BC managing wildlife with politics and emotion. 62 different G bears in 10 days was our best year and now I can see and touch a few reminders every day.

BTW your refs were from, 2004, 2010 and 2013, a different time when BC did manage grizzly bears by utilizing and removing close to 300 mostly older males annually. Strikes only those who understand that possibly now that the older males have saturated shrinking habitat that some (mostly males) would swim a short distance to find a new territory. Lots of non biased world science to back that point for many species.

HM
Well, certainly management is influenced by politics. No argument there. And the focus applied to science can be politicized, as well. But the science is the science. It has it's caveats as to assumptions and statistical power no matter which "side" is quoting it. All of those are caveats are declared and debated as to the accuracy and applicability of that science past it's assumptions.

So I disagree that one should necessarily dismiss opposing views w/o discussing & debating the science that any "side" is using to promote their narrative out of hand because one disagrees with that narrative. I think both sides can learn something from that debate. In structured decision-making like environmental assessments - it is critical to that process.

As far as the science that I quoted on the Grizzly numbers is admittedly somewhat dated - but is the most current I could find.It is also non-NGO data - it's both industry & government data. In that methodology of extrapolating densities by habitat - there are declarations about the large variability that precludes not only accurate estimates but noticing even fine-scale trends. That has been the critique of the NGOs about those estimates who say they are too high.

Yet even with those "higher" estimates - CDC and COSEWIC (not the NGOs) still listed certain populations of near-coastal & interior grizzlies. So those "higher" numbers might be seen as a "best-case" scenario.

And I don't think I need to convince most posters on this forum that our fish resources have taken quite a hit in the past number of years.

So... I can't see what support or scientific vigour the theory that the habitat is saturated and the extras grizzlies are forced on the Island has. Similar to your other theory that whiteish naïve black bears who have no instinct of danger, Anytime I see a black bear traveling fast - often I see a grizzly about 10min behind it. I think they know the danger. And I am not understanding how that assertion helps the argument for the theories you presented.

It's also been my experience that you see males more in the estuaries - especially early in the season before fish show-up; while the females (especially if they have cubs) try to stay out of the males way and are more interior and upslope. So.. one would expect that males would be closer and more attracted to long swims while the female would chance losing cubs on a long swim and especially when being in male territory. I've got many years - not days - in both black bear and grizzly territory to share.

So - there's some alternative theories to offer for the discussion...
 
A couple poor Chum/Pink cycles on the mainland and a healthy population will get a few moving. I’ve been stomping around lots of the mainland watersheds the last few falls and it’s been bleak for salmon. We’ve had a few grizz 15 minutes from our house here in Hardy but like most bears that come over, they swim back in the fall to hibernate on the mainland.


They would’ve established a large population on the island pre contact if they were going to do it. Similar to Princess royal island, we will likely get a small permanent population that won’t greatly affect any other species.
 
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Speaking of science - I'm not seeing any data to support your hypothesis, HM - that the habitat is saturated and the extras are forced on the Island. And the "spirit" bears are white black bears - not grizzlies - which is what this article is about.

As far as Grizzlies go: "Within British Columbia, the Grizzly Bear is listed as “Vulnerable” (Blue-listed) by the BC Conservation Data Center (CDC) and as “Special Concern” (SC) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) (CDC explorer, 2010; Hamilton et al. 2004). The species is not currently listed under the Federal Species at Risk Act (Schedule 1), however, it is listed on the BC Conservation Framework as Priority 2-Goal 2; as such, habitat protection and monitoring are recommended by the provincial government" (Hobbs et al. 2013).
View attachment 52950
The other narrative I hear is that the fish resources are so poor - the grizzlies are swimming elsewhere to find grub. The caveat I would add is that they are either much better swimmers and/or have better eyesight than black bears. I know 1st hand that black bears have crappy distant eyesight - not as sure about the grizzlies.

Most of the outer Islands on the North & Central Coasts have no bears (exception Princess Royal) - but wolves. The in-between islands (between the outer and the mainland) generally have reduced population sizes of black bears. So - colonization is a slow work in progress wrt bear colonization.

Most of the outer islands also have limited - if any - mountains with snow pack (exception Princess Royal) - which is thought essential for grizzly mom & pup denning. So that might be a factor in grizzly colonization success, as well.

And as far as the "spirit"/kermode bears go - there is a line of them that runs from Terrace in the North to Princess Royal in the South. And black bears close to that line often have rings on their cuffs & necks. Must've been one real fecund & horny white black bear that made that trip North from Princess Royal after glaciation towards Terrace :)
When I was a kid we lived in Butedale on Princess Royal Island. At the time the Kermode was thought to be a myth ( even though the locals saw them). The expeditions from down south would show up from UBC etc. to track them down to no avail. Often within weeks of them beating the bush for them with no success they’d show up across the harbour in the beach shortly after the expedition packed it in. At the time it was quite the local joke.
 
So, if I'm following along, agentaqua, this fall we could see cubs in the Salmon river estuary. There were none sighted last fall, with cubs. Pink run was non-existent in this system and it has never been a chum locus. No science behind my opinion, but I go with young males hitting the water to avoid getting their butt chewed. Young females have something else to offer.

Interesting times.
 
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