Yellowstone's 600 Grizzlies: Endangered, or Ripe for the Shooting?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is thinking of delisting Yellowstone National Park's population of six hundred grizzly bears, which has grown significantly since the mid nineties:

More than 250 scientists and researchers have signed a letter protesting a federal proposal to no longer protect grizzly bears in the Yellowstone area under the Endangered Species Act.

. . . .

Among those signing the letter were primatologist Jane Goodall and bear researchers Chuck Jonkel and John Craighead Sr.

. . . .

A population of 2,000 to 3,000 is needed for genetic diversity and to withstand regional variations such as food sources, they said. A smaller one is likely to go extinct, they argued.

In a conference call Thursday, three researchers also questioned the accuracy of the agency's population estimates.

Link. The good news is, if the bears are delisted, you can go back to importing and exporting them. The bad news is they will eat you.

Indexed by tags politics, nature, fish and wildlife, endangered, species, grizzly, bear, Yellowstone.
Image credits: "Smiling Bear," Alpine Climber, via Flickr, borrowed for news-reporting and comment purposes.