It sure seems like slaughtering iconic bears is the Department of Fish and Game’s answer to everything. Is it really the answer or just half the story? For example, a couple recent letters to the ADN mentioned there were more bears than usual around the Mulchatna caribou ranges because of strong fish runs in the area. I wonder if there are more wolves in the area because of the abundance of bear carcasses. In any case, there are still unanswered questions about the killings. Michelle Bittner’s letter to the editor in the ADN on Sept. 5 discussed how the department’s numbers do not pencil out and, based on their own numbers, it seems 30% of caribou die of causes not relating to bears. What, then, are the causes?
Again, I ask the Department if the herd animals are being studied at all.
Do they have disease? Do they have enough food to sustain a huge herd? Has the habitat changed due to climate change or some other reason? What factors are there that are detrimental to reproduction?
How many animals are killed illegally? Are your herd number goals realistic today?
Without candid answers to questions like these, it seems the state’s scientists are only looking at the half of the story that favors slaughter.
— Sue Johnson
Anchorage
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