MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota black bear who became a worldwide star when her birth was broadcast over the Internet is presumed dead after a hunter came forward to report that he had shot the animal without knowing it was her, a researcher said Tuesday.
Researchers last saw the yearling bear named Hope on Sept. 14. Lynn Rogers, senior researcher at the North American Bear Center and its affiliated Wildlife Research Institute in Ely, said he was contacted Tuesday by a hunter who said he killed the bear when it came to his bait station alone on the evening Sept 16.
The hunter told Rogers he would not have deliberately shot Hope and didn't know she was the same bear. However, Rogers said the hunter also did not express remorse.
Rogers said he's confident the bear was Hope because every other female bear known to be in that area near Ely in northeastern Minnesota where Hope and her family roamed has been accounted for, including Hope's radio-collared mother, Lily, who at one point bedded down just 165 yards away from the bait site. Hope was not collared or otherwise marked or tagged.
Rogers declined to give the name of the hunter. He said he's discouraging verbal attacks on him and hunters in general because that won't help his center's research and education efforts. But he acknowledged that feelings have been running high since the center put out word a few days ago on Facebook that Hope was missing and likely dead.
"I've gotten calls today from several people who could hardly talk through their tears, but there's also a lot of anger. It's a highly emotional item for the Lily fans. We're just trying to figure out where we go from here. And we want to protect the hunter," Rogers said.
Lily and Hope became an Internet sensation two winters ago when the center installed a camera inside Lily's den and thousands of people watched live as she gave birth to Hope. Students at over 500 schools have been following Hope, Lily, and Lily's new cub, Faith, on the bear center's website and Facebook, Rogers said. Lily's Facebook page has about 134,000 fans.
"This is probably the most famous bear in the world," Rogers said of Hope. "... It lived for 602 days and during that time it changed a lot of lives. Hope changed a lot of lives. It drew people together."
The center's announcement on its "Lily the Black Bear" Facebook page Tuesday afternoon that the hunter had come forward generated hundreds of comments within hours. Many visitors wrote that they were devastated, but grateful for how Hope and Lily's story had touched their lives. Many posts also blasted the hunter, but a few defended him and echoed Rogers' call to leave him alone.
The researcher also said it turned out that the hunter was never a member of a Facebook page called "Lily: a bear with a bounty" and never wrote messages there. Rogers on Monday had expressed suspicion that the hunter was a poster there.
Rogers reiterated that he's not against all bear hunting, pointing out that he helped write Minnesota's bear hunting regulations. Those rules allow hunters to set out bait stations, a practice that many of Lily and Hope's fans have condemned as unsportsmanlike. Rogers defends baiting, however, saying it gives hunters a better chance at a clean, humane shot, and reduces the overall number of bears killed because fewer are wounded by bad shots only to die later in the woods, unfound and unrecorded.
He also noted that the hunter's actions were perfectly legal, though Rogers said he wishes people wouldn't shoot his research bears.
"It's just one more instance of us being in the middle of a groundbreaking data set and having it cut short by a hunter killing a critical bear," Rogers lamented.
___
Online:
North American Bear Center: http://www.bear.org
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
Comments (31)
Add commentI stand
I stand by the hunter on this. It was bear season. That's what hunters do during bear season. He was licensed, it was legal. He wouldn't have had to come forward, but he did.
"Hope was not collared or otherwise marked or tagged."
How was he to know which bear was special and was named? Should he have stood in the woods and called her name till she came out, and said, 'I can't shoot you!'
Leave the hunter alone, and don't expect your "pets" to remain safe during the appropriate seasons!
Don't name food!
Hunter did nothing illegal, BUT
While the hunter did nothing illegal he is not without some fault. Every bait station is registered so every bait station owner in the area was aware of the hype around the research bears becuase the DNR and others told them so. If the hunter was a true hunter he would have known the different bears in his area that visited his station using game cams and time in the field. It seems the hunter was not intending to kill the named bear, however he had no interest in preventing it either.
Then
Then why wasn't Hope marked or tagged if she was such an important bear? Lily is. Had Hope been tagged, the hunter wouldn't have shot her. He didn't know! Betting she wasn't the only female bear out there.
Then?
To think that 134k people from around the world knew of this bear, you cant tell me that a person who lives and hunts the exact same land was unaware that this bear was around, what it looked like, and that she was visting his station.
Bears are exceptionaly territorial, there is a reason when a bear becomes aggressive it takes about 10 min for the authorities to find it and kill it. If this hunter was anything but blind and dumb then he would have known, which I think he did.
Its situations like this that make Hunters lives more difficult. Science and Hunting could be a great partnership for both sides but some ignorant individuals make poor choices and gives the rest of us a bad name. Dont give him to much credit for coming forward, he had to register the bear and it was shot around the same time Hope disapeared and on the same land, he wasnt going to avoid it for long.
rejo0203
"Dont give him to much credit for coming forward, he had to register the bear and it was shot around the same time Hope disapeared and on the same land, he wasnt going to avoid it for long."
First, its "too much credit" not "to much credit."
Second, there already is a great partnership between science and hunting. Black bears are not endangered or even rare and this is not the first study done on a bear from birth to death. Besides that, harvesting of the animal is a part of the research that should be done with these sorts of things - its one of the ways seasons are timed and bag limits are set. Hope was legally harvested and registered. Her contributions were more to the entertainment industry than to the scientific community.
As far as the hunter knowing it was Hope... who cares if he did?! Some hunters only have permission to hunt certain plots of land and if it happened to be the plot that she visited so be it. This is a renewable resource that HUNTERS care about and invest far more of their dollars to than so called "environmentalists."
Congratulations to the hunter on your bear. I hope the excitement of your hunt wasn't tarnished by anyone that doesn't understand the culture of a hunter.
oh really
"The hunter did not express remorse".... no surprise there!! His adrenaline was probably still pumping from the excitement of killing something...
And you can leave your backlash comments to yourself people because im not stupid and know for a fact most hunters out there arent shooting for food first, they do it for the thrill ...the "sport" if you really think it should be called that.
Then
Then those kind of hunters should have their license's pulled. Hunting is for food. It's the dimwits that hunt for trophies are what give the hunters a bad name. If you don't want the meat from that trophy buck, I'm betting a food shelf or a family will take it. Don't leave it out in the brush to go to waste.
As for Hope, well, it was a bear, it was hunting season and the hunter that bagged her should be congratulated.
Was Hope harmless? Would she have given you a big bear hug if you come up on her in your yard?
Think about that.
No Public $$ for "that researcher"
None since he was fired from his position with the forest service, at least.
I'm Torn
I like bears and I like hunters.
Oh dear, whatever should I do now?
JVC
Good thing...
that the bear was killed by a hunter and not by a logging truck racing to mill with a load of virgin timber!
Bear
Bear hugger and a tree hugger...
hunting
This state was built by hunters and loggers. Its was our heritage we would not be here if not for them.. If you live that far north there isn't much as to do besides fish.. You hunt everything you can thats the way of life in the North.. Money is thin and meat is abundant.. sustainability hunting is an excellant way to be a bad recession because food is always on the table and you don't go hungry unless and greenie thinks it be best that you starve and eat gov't subsidized potato chips and die from diabetes
Bear meat
Besides, bear meat is good for you. Very little cholesterol and fats. Better someone hunts them rather than be hit on the road and ruin a car and waste meat. Right?
Professor Miller
Thanks for the quick English lesson, glad you had the time to proof my posts, I will send them to you in the future so that you can ensure my English is up to your standard. My Masters advisor had to always remind me of the same thing...how bout yours?
""This is a renewable resource that HUNTERS care about and invest far more of their dollars to than so called "environmentalists."
Congratulations to the hunter on your bear. I hope the excitement of your hunt wasn't tarnished by anyone that doesn't understand the culture of a hunter."'
I consider myself a Hunter but not because I harvest animals but how, when, and what I harvest. The term Hunter is a broad term used to often on people who dont deserve it, I can think of 2 off the top of my head.
"Thanks for the quick English
"Thanks for the quick English lesson"
LOL! I was wondering if you were going to respond to that.
rejo0203
My advisor loves my writing skills! Thanks for throwing your credentials around.
I had to call that out... sorry! Its a pet peeve of mine.
You don't know my hunting resume and I don't know yours so I won't get into a peeing match with you about who is a better person in the woods.
steve
""I had to call that out... sorry! Its a pet peeve of mine.""
Please use It's not Its. Sorry, I know your pet peeve is spelling but apparently only when it’s someone else. You are using "its" as a pronoun with no apostrophe and not a conjunction of “it is” with an apostrophe.
I generally only toss out credentials when someone begins a conversation by correcting my spelling then makes a similar error in their correction....that, and at the bar.
going
Going from good sportsmanship to English 101.:) I got good grades in English and spelling.
Now watch, I'll mess up and misspell the word "bare!"(bear) ;)
ha!
You're right! I was shooting those out at work and not even paying attention! My hypocrisy goes only so far I guess!
Have a nice weekend. I'm going hunting.
Good luck
Good luck, I hope you bag a big one!
really?!
Unless this bear was marked in any way or fashion I cannot see any way an excited hunter could know it was a "pet". Was she a pink bear or something that someone would think a hunter could tell or even care. Bears are collared for harvest and movement research. Now if the statement that a bear that is 602 days old (hard to believe) was only 100# then I for one would pass on it. Not because it wasn't a trophy but because it wouldn't have much for meat. As for this stigma of MOST hunters being trophy hunters I will yell out a resounding "[filtered word]". Is there some out there yes but even the most greedy hunters that I know fill their freezers for the rest of the year. I still haven't found a good recipe for antler soup if any of you have one let me know then I will care if I shoot a booner or not.
clarification
The (hard to believe) was meant for the age and weight not just the age. I know there's grammar nazis out there.
Good golly,
who really cares what a bunch of whiners from out of state think? People who don't hunt will never understand. They think hamburger comes from the grocery store.
Most real Minnesotans (yes, even pantywaist libruls from the Twin Cities) are smart enough to cork it when it comes to hunting in this state, even if they don't agree. Not to mention pantywaist libruls like me who can't wait to fill the freezer up with venison come November.
strange
I thought it strange that she only weighed 100#. Must not have found too many corn fields or berry patches this year. Yeah, I would have passed on that too. Kinda like shooting fawns. Meat is tender but there just isn't much there. Get a tough old buck and you can put him in a pressure canner, tender him up and eat him all winter long.
I think this whole bear thing is over blown. Those are the kind of people that will get between a mother and cub, just to pet the 'cute little bugger.' End up pulling back a bloody stump.
Not a hunter
but I agree, if it was not tagged, collared, or otherwise marked in any fashion, then the hunter, such as he is, is not to blame. But then again, let's be honest, bear hunting is no better than sniper shooting. I see little "sport" in baiting a bear and waiting in ambush.
Like you said
Like you said, you're not a hunter. You think it's easy getting a bear just because you have bait? You are right, you're not a hunter.
If you have bait on your hook does that mean you will automatically catch a fish?
nice Nan
Having a trophy bear come in is a difficult task.
Those that think it is easy need to actually try it once. And for those that got lucky the first time and think it is so easy need to try it a second time.
In 2010, 9689 licenses were sold, 2699 bears harvested for a percent of 27.865%. I guess it really isnt shooting fish in a barrel. If it was gambling, the casino would be raking in the cash, eh?