Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 42

that if and when hunting occurs, it's not going to be done to
persecute grizzly bears.
While I am sure challenges will continue to arise, I think
there will be opportunities, too. Once we don't have to be solely
focused on demonstrating a recovered population, it might
allow us to follow other research questions that are important
to the public of Wyoming and to us as an agency.
Q: Would financial compensation to landowners for damages
caused by grizzly bears change if the bears are managed by
individual states?
DT: The compensation program was developed years ago
to provide an incentive to producers to be more tolerant of
the more negative ramifications of a completely intact large
carnivore guild in northwest Wyoming. It is set in statute, so
it would not change. It's something we have done for a long
time. I think it's important to note that the compensation
program is not designed to make individuals money, but to
offset some of the costs of livestock depredation. In some areas
we are seeing up to 13 percent calf loss in the summer, and
that's something that cannot be maintained through time if
you are trying to make a living as a producer.
Q: Is a gunshot a dinner bell for grizzly bears?
Luke Ellsbury: I guess the jury is still out for me. Grizzly bears
are such an incredibly smart animal; it wouldn't surprise me
that they could learn that behavior in some cases. I think it's
more because there are so many bears on the landscape, and
when a game animal is harvested, there is simply a high likelihood bears will be in the area anyway and smell the carcass.
BD: I probably don't fall into the mainline opinion that gunshots attract bears. I believe more it's the whole combination of
activities associated with hunting that lead bears to be attracted
to the site of a kill.
The fact that you are pursuing the same game that a grizzly
bear could be, in the same place, at the same time of year, and
as hunters, we often break all the rules about trying to avoid
bears. We mimic prey through calling and scent masking, and
we are active at the same time of day prey and bears are active.
Bears have a very powerful sense of smell. If a hunter is
successful and begins field dressing, they're now dealing with
a potential food source for a bear. Bears that are already in the
area are attracted to that activity and that smell.
Q: How much money would Wyoming make if hunting
grizzlies was allowed, and how does that compare to the
cost of managing them?
BD: Wyoming has an extensive grizzly bear management

42 | December 2020	

The most difficult days by
far are the days we have had a
person killed by a grizzly. You are
dealing with a family that lost
a loved one.

Large carnivore biologists relocate a
grizzly bear invlolved in a conflict in
the Cody region. (WGFD photo)



Wyoming Wildlife magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wyoming Wildlife magazine

Cover
From the director
In this issue
A couple pennies
Mailbag
Opening shot
News
Griz on the Go poster
Ask Game and Fish
Grizzly Glossary
Bruin Challenges
Allure of the grizzly
Grizzly Q&A
Wild Country Dispatch
Backpage
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Cover
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - From the director
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - In this issue
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - A couple pennies
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Mailbag
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Opening shot
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 7
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - News
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Griz on the Go poster
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 10
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 11
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Ask Game and Fish
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Grizzly Glossary
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Bruin Challenges
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 15
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 16
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 17
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 18
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 19
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 20
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 21
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 22
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 23
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 24
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 25
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 26
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 27
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Allure of the grizzly
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 29
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 30
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 31
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 32
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 33
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 34
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 35
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Grizzly Q&A
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 37
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 38
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 39
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 40
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 41
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 42
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 43
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 44
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 45
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Wild Country Dispatch
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 47
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Backpage
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