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Loading...Hunter Kills Hope, Famous Internet Bear
Lily is a wild black bear who is part of long-term study of black bear ecology and behavior being conducted by Dr. Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield at the North American Bear Center and affiliated Wildlife Research Institute in Ely, Minn. It is currently the “longest and most detailed black bear study and the largest educational outreach program ever done for black bears.”
In 2010, a webcam was put into Lily’s den and on January 22, she gave birth to Hope, and simultaneously became the first wild black bear to give birth live on the Internet. Like the Decorah eagles, Lily and her cub captured the hearts and curiosity of thousands of people from around the world who were able to watch these bears and gain a new perspective as they learned about their secret lives in the wild.
Lily has more than 133,000 fans on Facebook.
Hope was last seen on September 14 with her mother, after which they wandered into an area with bear bait, but were not followed by researchers. The following day, Lily’s GPS collar showed that they had been at the station, but Lily had returned and was later seen with Hope’s younger sibling, Faith …but no Hope.
Unfortunately, bear baiting is legal in Minnesota, as is killing collared research bears. However, hunters are asked not to. Sadly, not all hunters are respectful, and some research bears have been shot in the past. Elsewhere on the World Wide Web, someone previously created a ‘Lily: Bear with a Bounty’ fanpage where jokes about “Hope jerky,” were made, along with other really profound comments that you would expect to find on such a site.
On Tuesday, an unnamed hunter confessed to killing Hope on September 16 when she came to his bait station. He claims he didn’t shoot her on purpose, though it’s hard to see how he wouldn’t have known, knowing they were in the area, or why he would even kill a juvenile bear at all. Rogers said “the hunter also did not express remorse.”
The news brought closure to everyone who was waiting for answers, but it also brought tears and anger to many who had been following Lily, Hope and Faith. Still Rogers stated he will not release the name of the hunter.
“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.
“Minnesota bears belong to everyone. Why are they being managed for a dozen hunters that might see them instead of the thousands, actually about a quarter million people around the world, that want to learn from these bears? They need to be protected,” said Rogers last May when he was fighting for protection for collared bears. His petition gathered almost 28,000 signatures on Care2, while only about 100 signed the petition in opposition.
To learn more about Lily, Hope and Faith and find out how to help protect bears, visit Bear.org and Bearstudy.org and see more footage on Youtube.
Related Stories:
NJ Black Bear Statistics Questioned But the Hunt Will Go On
Read more: animal cruelty, black bears, faith, hope, hunting, lily, minnesota, north american bear center, research bears, wildlife research institute
Photo credit: alh1 via flickr
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
Recent Comments from Causes
Interesting!
If they were able to work they would do it for salary for sure!
I am sickened by breed discrimination.Lets hope that countries and thier states that have crap policies…
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+ add your ownWhat I am condoning and recommending is that we find out who did this, and boo him loudly any time anyone in the area sees him. I would throw in several "You suck" yells as well. He may understand that.
Sadly the only kind of language a loser like this - who would bait and kill a baby bear - understands is something along the lines of "someone should bait and shoot him." That's the kind of language and thought process that circulates amongst the backwoods weirdos who look upon this sort of thing as a good challenge. Having interacted with all sorts of people growing up as a military brat all over the country, I can assure you that "hunter" only understands other trolls who think and speak like him. Most of us on Care2 are above making idle comments just in the hopes of provoking thought into a brainless idiot, so I'm not suggesting any idle comments on their blog. It's just a statement to show a glimpse into the so-called mind of the perpetrator.
"On Tuesday, an unnamed hunter confessed to killing Hope on September 16 when she came to his bait station. He claims he didn’t shoot her on purpose, though it’s hard to see how he wouldn’t have known, knowing they were in the area, or why he would even kill a juvenile bear at all. Rogers said “the hunter also did not express remorse.”
The news brought closure to everyone who was waiting for answers, but it also brought tears and anger to many who had been following Lily, Hope and Faith. Still Rogers stated he will not release the name of the hunter.
“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."
This "hunter" is a simple cold-blooded murderer. Of course he did not express remorse! He knew perfectly well what he was doing. And this Rogers person want to protect the murderer of an innocent, juvenile female bear? Why?
High time we had "open season" on hunters! Humans are murderous, violent simians. We are supposed to obey the moral principle.
"And we want to protect the hunter"....um, WHY?
Very sad. As the article says, why would anyone kill a juvenile bear? Or an adult, for that matter.
When a poor animal becomes famous I am afraid it will turn up dead.
Sad news but thanks for sharing
How very sad. To willingly take any life is wrong. "For fun" hunters have something within them that I cannot understand. (thankfully)
The fact that this creep did not express remorse does not surprise me. Hunters don't care about the animals they slaughter, or the species that we are losing on a daily basis.
I watched the wildlife series on tv. about this bear family. It was enchanting. Now some evil dickhead has killed one member of this beautiful family. I despair. I've never fired a gun, not even held one. But I'd love to sneak up on these hunters when they put down bait, and shoot to kill. I can't believe I said that, but those beautiful animals are worth so much more to this earth than any hunter.
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