Bear perceptions mostly myths
Friday, March 21, 2008
To the Editor:
The opinion page recently has seen numerous letters
about black bear hunting in New Jersey, written by both sides of the
very controversial subject. One very noticeable topic that always seems
to appear in letters by hunting enthusiasts is that opponents are out to
deprive them of their right to hunt in New Jersey. As a member of the
Bear Education and Research Group, I can flat-out state that nothing
could be further from the truth.
Our mission is to dispel the myths that were instilled
in us by our parents, outdoor magazines (with the snarling faces of
bears) and false assertions that there is a bear at every school bus
stop just waiting to eat our children. Our mission is education,
awareness, and means of coexisting with the bear population.
After reading two letters, one writer implied that the
writers were giving an impression of soft cuddly little bundles of fur,
but he knew different, because he has hiked the woods and trails of
Maine equipped with a sidearm for protection against attack from these
ferocious killers.
In my research of black bear behavioral patterns,
ecology, social organizations, vocalizations and relations to human
beings, I have hiked the trails and scoured the woodlands of Minnesota,
New Jersey and other states, and never once encountered a single act of
aggression by a black bear. I have entered a den, retrieved a cub in
front of the sow for health conditions, etc., and never was threatened
or attacked.
There is little doubt that the two-sided issue will
continue for some time, but there are two facts that have not changed.
Despite fluctuating numbers and efforts to entice our youth and women
into hunting, the decline in hunting enthusiasts and the public
opposition to further bear hunts in favor of non-lethal management
remains.
DAVID W. STEWART
Vernon
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