Three days ago, Wolf Conservation Center staff and supporters encountered this beautiful grizzly in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest.

When bears emerge from their dens in the spring, food is in short supply with only the green grass available to eat at lower elevations. Because food is relatively scarce early in the season, bears tend not to put on weight until well into June. We came upon the grizzly in one of Great Bear’s many estuaries, or “nurseries of the sea,” where the river meets the ocean. For hours we watched her quietly peruse a patchwork of sedge grass while periodically sizing us up with a glance to ascertain out intentions.

Once roaming widely across North America, B.C. is one of the last refuges of the grizzly bear. But the future of this grizzly remains uncertain.

Despite widespread opposition, the B.C. government continues to treat this vulnerable and iconic species as an expendable resource.

During the spring trophy hunt season, female bears like the one we watched are often shot leaving their cubs to perish. In the fall female grizzlies may be pregnant when they are hunted. Grizzly bears have the second lowest reproduction rate of North American land mammals.

Economically, B.C.’s grizzly bear trophy hunt threatens the growing and sustainable wildlife-based tourism industry. Eco-tourism and bear viewing attract thousands of people to B.C. every year and create sustainable employment. There is simply no scientific, ethical or economic rationale for the trophy hunt.

Although the spring season to hunt grizzlies for trophy ended today, the extended fall season begins in two months. As B.C. politicians return to the legislature in exactly one week on June 22nd, the fate of BC’s grizzlies is yet to be determined. These bears need your help.

Please sign and share Pacific Wild‘s petition today to ban the grizzly bear trophy hunt in BC.

Sign here