Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services is asking for the public’s help in solving the case of a deceased grizzly bear discovered with a gunshot wound last autumn, as per a social media update shared on Friday. The hunter reported the bear’s remains on November 25 near Honey Coulee, an outdoor recreational area situated around 110 kilometers south of Calgary. Officials determined that the grizzly bear had been shot sometime earlier, likely between November 8 and 20, according to Fish and Wildlife.
The hunting of grizzly bears in Alberta has been prohibited since 2006, as they are classified as a threatened species by the provincial government. A spokesperson from Fish and Wildlife emphasized that illegal hunting activities such as poaching not only harm the province’s ecosystems but also lawful hunters. These actions undermine conservation efforts, jeopardize wildlife population management, and often lead to stricter regulations that impact law-abiding hunters.
Under the Report A Poacher program in the province, individuals providing information that leads to charges being filed may be eligible for a monetary reward. Retired Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer John Clarke highlighted the significance of incidents involving the unlawful shooting of grizzly bears. Grizzly bears have a slow reproductive rate, with adults typically starting to breed between the ages of five and eight, and sows giving birth to one litter every three to five years thereafter, contributing to their vulnerable status.
Clarke recounted three notable cases during his career involving illegally shot grizzly bears, including instances where the animals were intentionally targeted or mistaken for black bears. While black bear hunting is permitted in the area where the deceased grizzly was discovered last November, Clarke speculated that the shooting might have been a case of mistaken identity, given that the black bear season ended shortly before the incident. However, upon reviewing a photo of the deceased bear shared by Alberta Fish and Wildlife, Clarke confirmed that it was indeed a grizzly bear.
The ongoing investigation by Fish and Wildlife likely involves scouring the area for tire tracks or footprints, interviewing locals, and identifying hunters with black bear licenses in the vicinity. The possibility that the grizzly bear was shot and wandered off before succumbing could complicate pinpointing the exact location of the shooting, Clarke mentioned. The provincial government closely monitors grizzly bear fatalities in Alberta, where vehicle collisions have been identified as the primary cause of mortality between 2013 and 2022. During this period, the province recorded 58 cases of illegal killings and six instances of grizzlies being mistaken for black bears.