Reintroducing Species

17/9/2010

Grizzly Bears used to be abundant throughout the northern US and Canada. They are no longer found in most of their historic ranges and the search is on to find places where the bears still live.

There is a movement to reintroduce Grizzlies to places where they used to be abundant. Read this article and examine the consequences of replacing a top predator. Do you think they should be reintroduced? Why or why not?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/science/earth/17grizzly.html?_r=1&ref=science

If you are interested in this topic, you can research the plight of the wolf in Yellowstone National park. They were locally extinct, then 66 wolves were reintroduced in the early 1990s. Since then, they have reclaimed their spot as the top preadors in the park, spreading out into almost 14 different breeding packs with a population of more than 300 wolves. Not all of the repercusions were positive for the people living near Yellowstone, however. Cattle are now threatened by these wolves, among other things.

18 Comments

Mr. Erdosy

20/9/2010 02:10:41 am

Since wolves have been reintroduced at Yellowstone, large scale changes in the populations of elk, bear, ravens, crows, aspens and many other organisms have taken place.
The addition of a top predator not only helps keep the elk population in check, those elk now have a reduced impact on the aspens trees. More kills by wolves give scavengers such as ravens, crows and bears a reliable food source.
There are numerous positive reasons for reintroducing predators into ecosystems.
Can any of you think of some negative consequences of the Yellowstone Wolf Program?

Adya Maddox

20/9/2010 09:01:05 am

In my opinion the Grizzley bears should be reintroduce in to more places in the United States. Although some people see it as a threat to human beings and the live stock bringing in the bears that once lived there will make big changes. Everyone saw how the wolves have put the ecosystem back into balance and I belive the bears will do the same

Beth Whitrod

20/9/2010 09:29:59 am

I agree with Adya. I believe that they should reindroduce grizzly bears into the United States because it will help balance food sources. However if they do do this there may be a possible threat to humans so i think they should have a barrier as to where they can go. If you think about it they were here before and they didnt harm anybody and thinking back the world used to be healthier...if thats the word and it used to be much easier to maintain. So reintroducing them, in my opinion is something they should strongly think about.

Cameron

21/9/2010 06:00:58 am

I personally believe that grizzly bears should not be reintroduced back into the United States because grizzly bears are dangerous animals as you well know. They can be a threat to humans because they will break into peoples houses go through people's garbage and could even possibly hurt somebody. If they are going to reintroduce them then us humans will have to be cleaner, for example don't leave mess on the kitchen counter at home, and don't leave our garbage in the drive before it is disposed of. They will also have to be careful that the population of bears stays under control.

Joey Archibald-Bowers

23/9/2010 08:02:47 am

I think that the Grizzly Bears should be reintroduced to the places in the US and Canada they were once abundant in. Technically, the people that caused the bears to become extinct in those areas should move out. Even though they complain about them, at least let them move back to their homelands with a large area for themselves. My thoughts to this subject are if you were their first, you have made your mark, so either live together peacefully or someone will be leaving.

Barney

23/9/2010 08:57:21 am

I agree with Beth. I strongly disagree with cameron about not reintroducing them.
I think that grizzly bears should be reintroduced to the United States in order to keep other animal populations under control. To reintroduce the grizzly population they will have to be careful that there are not hazards about attacking people because of food problems. They could be able to make an area where the animals cannot be hunted or killed by humans. If humans start to hunt the prey of the grizzly they will stray into areas that are populated by people which would cause a problem.
There used to be 50,000 grizzly bears in the United States. They estimate that there are 800- 1000 grizzly bears left and that number is still dropping due to how humans hunt them. So I say yes to reintroducing the grizzly bears.

Trevor

23/9/2010 09:28:15 am

I believe that should be reintroduced because of what happened with what happened with the wolves in Yellow Stone. I dont see them as threat to anyone unless you get in there way and try to harm them, but some people think that they just kill for killing sake but they are probably just trying to feed their young and them selves.

Adya Maddx

23/9/2010 10:17:42 am

I stongly strongly diagree with camerom. the bears might be a threat to human beings if they go hiking or camping or they are out in the woods. I dont think bears care for humans one bit and mind there own buisenss, i think the bears wont go into peoples houses and go through there garbage.

Macden Wheatley

23/9/2010 11:06:05 am

In my opinion i think that they should and should not. they should come back to keep the food chain going because at some point they will be a over population. At some part along the line but they should not because like what Cameron said that they will go and kill people or savage attack them and go in there house. So there is pros and cons for bring them back my final thought is to bring them back. But keep a close eye on how fast they grow.

Erin Anderson

23/9/2010 09:27:00 pm

I completley agree with Adya and Beth, however it depends on where they are reintroduced. If its next to society then probably not a good idea because farmers animals will get killed and so will humans. This will also happen next to camp sites. As Beth says it will balance the food chain which is very good, but on the other hand as i siad it depends where which is also what Joey said. If they get rintroduce in a place where no one else is only animals then i agree with them getting reproduced.

Ellen

24/9/2010 12:21:38 am

I 100% agree to reintroducing grizzly bears. I understand to some people bears are a threat and even an annoyance but in the end it comes down to the grizzly bears existence. In my opinion that is important. If it means keeping the grizzlys on the face of the Earth I am all for it. It will also help keep the food cycle in control. We need predators in that cycle even thought there will be some negative impact possibly on humans.

Kitty Hasted

24/9/2010 12:28:07 am

I believe that it is a good thing that the Grizzly bear has been reintroduced to the US and Canada. They reason I believe that it is a good thing is because they set the food chain right. They are part of our food web, they help to make sure that some species over populate, and ruin the food chain. But there are some down sides to them being reintroduced, like Erin said they farm animals are in danger of being killed by the Grizzly Bear, and occasionally some humans will be threatened. But the best thing to do is to make sure that the food chain stays in place, so I believe that the Grizzly Bear was a good idea to be reintroduced!

Sebastian

24/9/2010 12:28:13 am

I agree to reintroducing bear in the United States. They were there before us and they help keep the habitat and the environment healthy and balanced. Grizzly bears are the top predators in their biomes and without them the population of elk, and other herbivores grows which diminishes plant growth. The reintroduction of bears in the US is a very responsible and environmentally positive ideas.

Xante Chalwell link

24/9/2010 12:28:47 am

I believe that they should reintroduce the grizzly bear because these areas have been the bear’s natural habitat for many years. Humans made the decision to invade their territory and then killed the grizzlies for killing their livestock! OK, so yes they are one of the top predators in their areas. While many people want the grizzlies (an endangered species) to make a comeback, on the flip side they are a threat to livestock and in some cases humans but that is just the way nature works the bear eats the livestock to survive. If they reintroduced the wolves they should reintroduce the bears because the wolves also eat livestock, it’s not just the bears. Plus the wolves are not even an endangered species! Why are people even building around the areas where there are wild animals, especially when they have livestock? It is just plain old common sense here people. They are going to go into people’s garbage and houses because they have food for them to eat. People think that the bears are going to kill them but all it is, is that the humans are going into their habitat. The bear should be introduced back into the USA. There should be a law saying that the bear should not be hunted because they are innocent animals. Maybe they should think of a humane way to control the growth of bear population. By killing all the bears it is messing up the whole ecosystem, which is why I think it is important to find a way for both humans and bears to live together.

Joshua Hayles

24/9/2010 12:29:59 am

I agree with Ellen. It is a no brainer. We are the reason they are no longer present in their natural habitat. We shouldnt denie them the oppertunity for their population to be re entroduced to the wild.

Xante Chalwell link

24/9/2010 01:08:06 am

There are some negative to introducing the wolves back to Yellow Stone, because if they reproduce to much wolves then the ecosystem will not be balanced because the wolves will eat all there prey and there will not be enough food for all of them.

Austin

24/9/2010 06:26:27 am

I think that grizzly bears should deffinitely be reintroduced because they were naturally there in the first place. It is not fair to completely whipe out an entire species and refuse to reintroduce them just because it will affect us negatively. Yes, it is true that grizzly's do have many negatives towards humans, but they were there first and it is not fair to bully them out of thier home.

Bryan Leue

24/9/2010 01:04:48 pm

The grizzly bear should be reintroduced, but beyond from human habitats, even if the human habitats were once theirs. I agree with Ellen and Josh that we should not just push them out of their natural environments, but certain compromises would have to be made so that both man and bear can be, if you allow the loosely used term, happy.

Reintroducing Species

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