A young grizzly bear was shot by someone on the Work Channel Road. It had been visiting campers, chewing on a cooler, exploring the inside of a tent and soaking in the water nearby. I saw photographs of it alive and was sad to hear that someone had shot it. Grizzly bears have recently moved back into that area and if people can’t learn to live with them, then perhaps they should be camping somewhere else.
I agree. Make a little sign and get outta the area and leave these animals be. How other places can we go for camping, hiking etc. Our pathetic weekend pleasures are worth the life of a Grizzly? I don’t think so.
How maddening to hear such sad news! It’s amazing how some jerkoff with a gun has killed something so beautiful and then probably goes bragging to his friends. 
Did he use all of the bear meat, and the hide? or did he just leave it there?
I’d be okay with it if he used the bear for something, but if it’s just to kill then no…
I don’t feel it is OK in any way unless it was self-defence which doesn’t seem it was! We are encroaching on their territory and it is about time we get the point of that ! As was stated before on this topic, there are so many other areas for our weekend picnics and camping, I thought that is what campgrounds were for. It is so great to hear people on here spew on about respecting the land and living in harmony with the creatures who live here but then about face when an innocent animal is killed. Pisses me off and is happening way too often these days all over BC 
Like tha man in Victoria who beat a mom raccoon and her babies to death with a hockey stick because they were getting in his garbage, this is bullshit !
As long as there is tourism and recreation, this will be an ongoing issue. As much as I agree with the statement, “there are so many other areas for our weekend picnics and camping,” it is the campers and tourist which are attracting the bears.
On the other hand, this seems to be a busy year in terms of bear to human encounters, several maulings, plenty of bears being spotted in or around human inhabited places and of course bears being killed.
Oh stop it , the Ra coon was messing with his garbage which he would have to pick up in the morning. The bear was screwing up the campsight and maybe disturbing the campers. Shit then you get into land rights , is there ever any end to these things…lol
If we could only convince the bears to stay in the sanctuary?!?!?! WIN-WIN!! 
I am sorry the young grizzly bear had to die. However I don’t agree with all the bear lovers and their knee-jerk reactions to this.
Each grizzly needs a large territory of land in order to obtain enough food to survive. For grizzly populations as a whole to survive the territory required is much larger. Unless we are willing to turn huge areas of the province over for grizzly bear preservation, grizzlies will continue to come into conflict with people. Usually the grizzlies will come out on the losing end, sometimes people will.
We cannot afford to make B.C. one giant grizzly sanctuary. The alternative is to let nature take its course. Species which are not adapted to their environment will die out. The current environment in B.C. includes populated areas with humans encroaching most everywhere. Grizzlies are not adapted to this environment. Therefore in the long run, grizzlies will be gone.
It would be best to declare open season on grizzlies and get it over with.
I’m sorry gum but I doubt that a bullet to the bear is letting “nature take its course” so why did it have to die aside from trying to get food out of a cooler at a campsite? I think the person with the gun was the one with the “knee-jerk” reaction .
I don’t condone killing any animals for trophy or when unnecessary but I can guarantee you that if I am out camping and a bear starts rummaging through my tent, food and posing a risk to me and my family, that the bear is going to get shot. It’s survival of the fittest and I intend on staying at the top of the food chain.
There are parks set aside for the grizzlies. Perhaps some bears could be relocated? It seems that wholesale slaughter is a bit over-the-top in my opinion.
First of all anybody who had the time to get their gun had the time to get themself and dear ones to a safe place. There was no valid reason to kill this bear. The sensible option was to wait, remove your stuff, and move out of the area. It is obvious this person shot the bear because it was a nuisance. If they are that frightened that they had to bring a firearm to the area then they have not business being there.
The only reasons why this bear was killed were:
- People left garbage lying around. (A sure death sentence)
- The bear was worth less than the cooler and whatever it may have contained.
- A lack of respect or willingness to understand nature.
I totally agree with your post Myframe…
I understand that it is possible that this bear was killed needlessly however, in considering the evidence it may also have been killed in defense. We know that it was raiding someone’s camp and was shot but what we don’t know is whether it was acting aggressively, whether anyone was in the tent or whether they were able to escape without shooting it. Maybe the bear was between them and their vehicle or close to children but knowing the little info that I do it’s to early to blame the individual who shot the bear. It’s easy to say how we may react in that situation as we sit at home but staring a Grizzly in the eye could easily propmt anyone into survival mode.
This may be true, but maybe that was what the last person there did. It’s quite possible that by killing this bear, they saved someone’s life in the future. Once bears become habituated with people, they do not gain fear again. If that person left the site, someone else would show up, think everything is great, and wake up in the middle of the night with a hungry bear going through their tent.
And talk to someone who’s been attacked by a Griz and ask them how much time they had. Most times, if you don’t have your gun in your hand, it’s too late.
There are hundreds of bears killed every year in the northwest (Terrace to Kitimat to Smithers) by Conservation Officers and farmers because they are a problem and keep coming back to the same spot. Bears are smart, they have been known to break into peoples cars and homes on multiple occasions. Relocation often does not work and bears have been know to travel 100’s of km back to where they were captured. And if you drop a young bear into another area that is already populated, now it’s over populated. Mature males don’t take too kindly to a newcomer.
The only true way to protect them is to prevent them from ever getting food from humans. Once they do, they’ll be back. Again and Again until they have to be destroyed.
And anyone spending time in Grizzly country without taking a gun is an idiot.
Very good and all excellent points…except for one thing. This bear is exactly where it should be, in the wilderness, a long way from any town, many kms from any human settlement.
It doesn’t matter. Who’s to say it won’t migrate into a populated area? A Grizzly Bear that’s not afraid of humans? Yeah, I’d rather have it shot. How many of you have actually been near wildlife as dangerous and as deadly as that? Can any of you say that you’d just quietly walk away?
So basically what is being said by some here is that because we wish to wander off the beaten track to have a picnic or set up camp that wildlife should be killed to accomodate our selfishness. Well, aren’t we the superior beings here then Do we kill the raccoons because they may have rabies and attack us? What about the wolves, out of our fear of them, do we kill them too? We can’t forget the deer, they have been known to attack in defense of their young. Where does it stop? We are the ignorant ones when we enter the realm of the wild animals, we know better but our mindset is one of if it bothers me or infringes on my plans, I will get rid of it ! We must respect what little rights wildlife seem to have remaining due to our ignorance and greed. Shooting first and asking questions later is defying nature in all its glory. Educate yourselves, take precautions when in the “wild” and enjoy what beauty is around us.