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Grizzly Comeback

By Andrea Delbanco

Hibernating grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park are waking up to good news this spring: Their population is no longer on the endangered-species list. The federal government formally removed the Yellowstone grizzlies from the list last Thursday. The bears were given threatened status in 1975, when their population numbered 300 or fewer. Now, there are more than 500 grizzlies in Yellowstone, thanks to a $24 million recovery effort.

Grizzly bears, also called brown bears, stand about seven feet tall and can weigh as much as 600 pounds. The meat-eaters are at the top of the food chain, and face little threat from other wild animals. But grizzlies are hunted by humans, who sometimes kill the bears out of fear for their own safety. Loss of habitat is also a big problem for grizzlies, who need a large range in which to roam.

Bringing Bears Back

"The key to the success story is preventing bears from dying," says Chris Servheen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Officials closed roads to protect the bears' habitat, and took steps to help bears and visitors coexist in the park. "Because fewer bears die, more bears live to have cubs," Servheen told TFK.

But not all grizzlies are out of the woods. The delisting of the Yellowstone bears has no effect on the four other grizzly populations in the lower 48 states. They remain listed as threatened. Aside from those in Yellowstone, the only grizzlies in the nation that do not have threatened status roam in Alaska.

Some people think the Yellowstone bears were taken off the list too soon. They worry that 500 isn't a large enough population to ensure the bears' survival. A group of more than 250 scientists and researchers sent a letter to the government protesting the delisting. "We can not take a risk," says Michael Scott of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

Servheen is confident that the grizzlies will be okay. "We have very detailed monitoring systems in place, so we know what the bears are doing," he says. "If there are any problems, we can respond."

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