As a teacher I have had the…

As a teacher I have had the opportunity to meet a variety of biologists with a variety of interests. They have spent many hours explaining to my students the importance of protecting the environment and animals. When I read about the introduction of the bear hunt again, I was very interested to know the guidelines especially the importance of hunting young females. Hunters are anxious to hunt any bear they see regardless of age or sex. Since I have gone to Algonquin park for the last 25 years, I have heard about the problem of bears going outside the boundary of the park, now they will be subject to hunting by uneducated hunters. I also know there is a rescue centre located in northern Ontario for cubs who have lost their mothers. Menacing bears are a problem solved by educating the public which the provincial parks do well.i don’t think the problem of the menacing bears has to do with the abundance of bears or overpopulation . In fact , I was told that many of the Algonquin bears are dying due to lack of food or changes in their environment eg. logging or pollution.( These may be bears outside the park boundary? ).
Therefore I encourage you to make sure that hunters are well educated about bears before granting any licenses to avoid reckless hunting practises. I would love to say no hunting of bears but I know that is not the question. Natural selection seems to be doing its jobs quite well without hunters.
Nan