Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Cars, Trains and Grizzlies!
- --NextPart_Webmail_9m3u9jl4l_24314_1090680051_0
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Just in case you missed it...here is the article that was in the Great Falls Tribune today. Hope you had fun.
Ed "Brother Bear" Stuart
Driver hits, kills young grizzly
By MICHAEL BABCOCK
A young male grizzly bear was hit and killed by a vehicle on Highway 200 near Monture Creek west of Ovando early Friday and one of its claws had been removed as a souvenir. Great Falls truck driver and Tribune outdoor columnist Greg Muich reported the bear carcass about 6:30 a.m. "I was rolling along about 60 mph and I saw the bear. 'Wow! A dead bear. You don't see that too often.' I stopped and backed up and realized it was a grizzly bear. Somebody already had cut one of the claws off -- the thumb on the right side had clearly been cut off. "People were pulling up and wanting to cut the other claws off," Muich said, but he prevented them from doing that. Grizzly bears are federally protected as a threatened species, a less severe status than endangered. Muich said he called 9-1-1 and the dispatcher notified Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Bill Thomas, an information officer with Fish, Wildlife & Parks said the bear was about 225 pounds and estimated to be 2 years old. "We hate to lose any grizzly bears but if you have to lose one, a young male is probably in the most expendable portion of the western Montana grizzly bear population." The scene of the accident was between Ovando and the Clearwater Junction. Highway 200 long has been considered the southern boundary of grizzly bear territory but that has changed. Several years ago grizzlies began showing up well south of the east-west highway. Thomas said FWP is saving the hide and skull for educational purposes. A DNA sample was taken to see if the bear shows up in any of the hair samples as part of a massive study of grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem which north of Highway 200. "We hope that the driver and the vehicle are OK. We appreciate everybody's help. But whoever cut off the 'right hand thumb' is holding an illegal souvenir," he said. Thomas said one claw on the other front paw was badly damaged -- probably in the accident -- but does not have the appearance "of somebody grubbing with a knife to get it out." "These animals are the property of the state of Montana and cannot be given away or taken," he said. "There will be a story that goes out with this hide, minus one claw, that will help us relate the fact that you cannot stop and help yourself." Thomas said vehicles hit and kill a bear every couple of years. "It may occur a little more often than we are aware of because sometimes people abscond with these animals." According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, one bear was killed by a car last year; five the year before; one in 2001, and two in 2000. Thomas said the bear was not collared and had no ear tags or lip or ear tattoos, so it was an unknown bear to FWP. Babcock can be reached by e-mail at triboutdoors@sofast.net or by phone at 791-1487 or (800) 438-6600.
- -------------- Original message from beaverboy@sofast.net: --------------
> Dear List,
>
> My weekly drive to Missoula went as usual yesterday. It can be
> a real bad drive in the winter but is a real pretty drive most
> of the time. I usually reach the top of RogerÆs Pass around 5:45 AM
> and let my engine cool off while I take a quick snooze unless
> of course there is a blizzard on top but thatÆs only in the bad
> snow months (Oct-May). I did take 20 winks and headed down the other
> side. I was busy looking for a couple of moose that live just
> on the west side of RogerÆs but didnÆt see them. I did
> finally come across a scattered herd of elk. And since they
> where on both sides of the highway I was concerned about
> one crossing before me. None did however.
> A few miles further I saw what I knew in an instance to be a dead
> bear on the opposite shoulder of the road. IÆve seen a few bears
> dead off the road before so it did not surprise me. There was no
> mistaking the black shape and roundness, I knew it was a bear a
> 1/4 mile away. As I zipped by at a very respectable 64 mph I
> glanced over at it. It was a Griz!!!
> I stopped my 80,000 pounds of rolling rubber and steel and backed
> back up the 1/2 mile just across from the black carcass. Sure
> enough, as I approached the big dead heap I saw it was indeed a
> Grizzly bear! I immediately grabbed my cheap disposable camera
> out of my rig. I sometimes carry my 35 mm or digital camera but
> of course not today!
> I also called 911 to report the kill, there are only two small
> spots on that drive through the Rockies where I can get a cell and luckily
> I was in one of them . The Griz was dead from being hit
> sometime early in the dark no doubt as it was already stiff and it was
> only 6:35AM when I came by it.
> It was a young male I guessed to weigh 250-300 pounds. It was
> missing two claws, one (the ring finger) looked liked it was tore
> off in the wreck or recently as the bear went about doing his hardy bear
> work. The inside claw on the front right paw however was
> cleanly severed by what must have been a knife. Hopefully the
> motorist that hit it took it as a memento to his wrecked rig as
> there was some vehicle debris about. ItÆs still illegal but if
> anyone deserved it, it was he.
> I stayed by the carcass waiting for the sheriff to show up.
> Several people stopped to see what I was doing. I told them all
> ôCheck it out! ThatÆs a Griz!ö
> One traveler with Washington plates asked me if I minded if he cut
> off a claw?! I told go ahead if he wanted to get a big fine. He forgot
> about it being a protected species. Many people stopped to
> see the bear while I was there though never two vehicles at a time.
> The Brute was built pretty good! Nothing but muscle, bone, teeth,
> claws, fur and sinew! He stunk pretty good too! Not dead animal
> smell but wet dirty dog smell. Similar to a stinking coyote but much
> stronger. IÆve always heard about how Griz smell, especially their
> breath and I got to smell it. I thought to myself as I stood over
> it, öI hope I never smell this smell again with the tables turned, me on
> the ground and a Griz on top!ö.
> As I knelt there examining its teeth another motorist stopped and
> asked what it was. I told him it was a Griz and he asked, ôIs it
> alive?ö. I
> responded, öDo you think IÆd be this close to its head if it was?ö.
> Standing there looking at this Brute and he was just a young Griz,
> I thought back about our recent talk on the list about Griz guns. I looked
> at the Griz and thought about taking such a beast with my trade gun.....
> IÆve now changed my mind on the subject.
> I now want a fully automatic .12 ga shotgun loaded with 00
> buckshot! No more pump for me!
> bb
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------
> hist_text list info: http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/maillist.html
- --NextPart_Webmail_9m3u9jl4l_24314_1090680051_0
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
<html>
<!-- BEGIN WEBMAIL STATIONERY -->
<head><style type='text/css'>
p {
margin: 0px;
}
</style></head>
<body>
<!-- WEBMAIL STATIONERY noneset -->
<P>Just in case you missed it...here is the article that was in the Great Falls Tribune today. Hope you had fun.</P>
<P> </P>
<P>Ed "Brother Bear" Stuart<BR></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=5>Driver hits, kills young grizzly<BR></FONT><FONT class=subhead></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT class=byline>By MICHAEL BABCOCK</FONT><BR><FONT class=affiliate>A young male grizzly bear was hit and killed by a vehicle on Highway 200 near Monture Creek west of Ovando early Friday and one of its claws had been removed as a souvenir. Great Falls truck driver and Tribune outdoor columnist Greg Muich reported the bear carcass about 6:30 a.m. "I was rolling along about 60 mph and I saw the bear. 'Wow! A dead bear. You don't see that too often.' I stopped and backed up and realized it was a grizzly bear. Somebody already had cut one of the claws off -- the thumb on the right side had clearly been cut off. "People were pulling up and wanting to cut the other claws off," Muich said, but he prevented them from doing that. Grizzly bears are federally protected as a threatened species, a less severe status than endangered. Muich said he called 9-1-1 and the dispatcher notified Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Bill Thomas, an information officer with Fish, Wildlife & Parks said the bear was about 225 pounds and estimated to be 2 years old. "We hate to lose any grizzly bears but if you have to lose one, a young male is probably in the most expendable portion of the western Montana grizzly bear population." The scene of the accident was between Ovando and the Clearwater Junction. Highway 200 long has been considered the southern boundary of grizzly bear territory but that has changed. Several years ago grizzlies began showing up well south of the east-west highway. Thomas said FWP is saving the hide and skull for educational purposes. A DNA sample was taken to see if the bear shows up in any of the hair samples as part of a massive study of grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem which north of Highway 200. "We hope that the driver and the vehicle are OK. We appreciate everybody's help. But whoever cut off the 'right hand thumb' is holding an illegal souvenir," he said. Thomas said one claw on the other front paw was badly damaged -- probably in the accident -- but does not have the appearance "of somebody grubbing with a knife to get it out." "These animals are the property of the state of Montana and cannot be given away or taken," he said. "There will be a story that goes out with this hide, minus one claw, that will help us relate the fact that you cannot stop and help yourself." Thomas said vehicles hit and kill a bear every couple of years. "It may occur a little more often than we are aware of because sometimes people abscond with these animals." According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, one bear was killed by a car last year; five the year before; one in 2001, and two in 2000. Thomas said the bear was not collared and had no ear tags or lip or ear tattoos, so it was an unknown bear to FWP. Babcock can be reached by e-mail at triboutdoors@sofast.net or by phone at 791-1487 or (800) 438-6600.</FONT> </P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message from beaverboy@sofast.net: -------------- <BR>> Dear List, <BR>> <BR>> My weekly drive to Missoula went as usual yesterday. It can be <BR>> a real bad drive in the winter but is a real pretty drive most <BR>> of the time. I usually reach the top of RogerÆs Pass around 5:45 AM <BR>> and let my engine cool off while I take a quick snooze unless <BR>> of course there is a blizzard on top but thatÆs only in the bad <BR>> snow months (Oct-May). I did take 20 winks and headed down the other <BR>> side. I was busy looking for a couple of moose that live just <BR>> on the west side of RogerÆs but didnÆt see them. I did <BR>> finally come across a scattered herd of elk. And since they <BR>> where on both sides of the highway I was concerned about <BR>> one crossing before me. None did however. <BR>> A few miles further I saw what I knew in an instance to be a dead <BR>> bear on the opposite shoulder of the road. IÆve seen a few bears <BR>> dead off the road before so it did not surprise me. There was no <BR>> mistaking the black shape and roundness, I knew it was a bear a <BR>> 1/4 mile away. As I zipped by at a very respectable 64 mph I <BR>> glanced over at it. It was a Griz!!! <BR>> I stopped my 80,000 pounds of rolling rubber and steel and backed <BR>> back up the 1/2 mile just across from the black carcass. Sure <BR>> enough, as I approached the big dead heap I saw it was indeed a <BR>> Grizzly bear! I immediately grabbed my cheap disposable camera <BR>> out of my rig. I sometimes carry my 35 mm or digital camera but <BR>> of course not today! <BR>> I also called 911 to report the kill, there are only two small <BR>> spots on that drive through the Rockies where I can get a cell and luckily <BR>> I was in one of them . The Griz was dead from being hit <BR>> sometime early in the dark no doubt as it was already stiff and it was <BR>> only 6:35AM when I came by it. <BR>> It was a young male I guessed to weigh 250-300 pounds. It was <BR>> missing two claws, one (the ring finger) looked liked it was tore <BR>> off in the wreck or recently as the bear went about doing his hardy bear <BR>> work. The inside claw on the front right paw however was <BR>> cleanly severed by what must have been a knife. Hopefully the <BR>> motorist that hit it took it as a memento to his wrecked rig as <BR>> there was some vehicle debris about. ItÆs still illegal but if <BR>> anyone deserved it, it was he. <BR>> I stayed by the carcass waiting for the sheriff to show up. <BR>> Several people stopped to see what I was doing. I told them all <BR>> ôCheck it out! ThatÆs a Griz!ö <BR>> One traveler with Washington plates asked me if I minded if he cut <BR>> off a claw?! I told go ahead if he wanted to get a big fine. He forgot <BR>> about it being a protected species. Many people stopped to <BR>> see the bear while I was there though never two vehicles at a time. <BR>> The Brute was built pretty good! Nothing but muscle, bone, teeth, <BR>> claws, fur and sinew! He stunk pretty good too! Not dead animal <BR>> smell but wet dirty dog smell. Similar to a stinking coyote but much <BR>> stronger. IÆve always heard about how Griz smell, especially their <BR>> breath and I got to smell it. I thought to myself as I stood over <BR>> it, öI hope I never smell this smell again with the tables turned, me on <BR>> the ground and a Griz on top!ö. <BR>> As I knelt there examining its teeth another motorist stopped and <BR>> asked what it was. I told him it was a Griz and he asked, ôIs it <BR>> alive?ö. I <BR>> responded, öDo you think IÆd be this close to its head if it was?ö. <BR>> Standing there looking at this Brute and he was just a young Griz, <BR>> I thought back about our recent talk on the list about Griz guns. I looked <BR>> at the Griz and thought about taking such a beast with my trade gun..... <BR>> IÆve now changed my mind on the subject. <BR>> I now want a fully automatic .12 ga shotgun loaded with 00 <BR>> buckshot! No more pump for me! <BR>> bb <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> ---------------------- <BR>> hist_text list info: http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/maillist.html </BLOCKQUOTE>
