I read a ‘heartbreaking’ article in a great, muskoka flavored, newspaper called, The Muskokan (Thursday August 24 2006 Edition). Specifically, the title of the article ‘red-flagged’ my attention as it reads:
Rescuing What the Hunters Leave Behind.
The next couple of paragraphs talk about these tiny bear cubs who were found starving up high in a pine tree not far from where their ‘mother’ bear had been shot and killed. The rest of the article shares how a wildlife rescue agency has been nursing these bear cubs back to health. Great story…really. The headline, however, is misleading.
The title sets the tone that this was the work of wasteful hunters. That assumption is inconclusive and barely circumstantial at best. The article does not mention the time of year the bear was shot and found. I would suggest that the bear was shot in the spring due to the description of the size of the cubs and their proximity to their ‘mother’ bear. If so, the chances that this bear was shot by hunters is very low as our spring bear hunt has been cancelled and hunting does not happen at this time of year. The bear could have been shot by a resident of the community because they ventured too close and too often into their yard. If it was shot in the fall (which seems unlikely due to the size of the cubs) any hunter, that I know, would have tracked that bear so as to not waste it. Its proximity to a jogging trail would have been an easy track for any novice hunter. I also wonder if a jogger would be using said trail during a known hunting season for bears. It could have even been shot by a hiker, who stumbled upon the bears on their walk along the trail.
I will admit that it could have been shot by a hunter who could care less. Shame on them! I would be the first to cuff and ‘em and stuff ‘em with the local authorities.
The fact is that the shooter of the bear could have been anyone. These kind of headlines simply add to an emotional debate that has laughed in the face of science regarding orphaned bear cubs.
Hat’s off to the wildlife rescue agency for making the best of this situation and the effort they have put in to saving these cubs. This is the real story here…not the evil, wasteful hunter the title seeks to vilify.
Just my opinion.
Bill Anderson
Muskoka Outdoors
Hunter’s don’t kill game and leave it. Shooters and poachers do that. Great post.