Battle of the NJ Bear Hunt Polls

When the Humane Society announced a poll this week that showed New Jersey residents opposed a bear 44% to 41%, it kicked out a discussion of whether the results are really true. Different polls are all over the map. Hunters point to this 2004 poll saying 66% of New Jersey residents support hunting in general. But of course that's not bear hunting (another poll shows approval of bear hunting at 47% nationwide).

So I asked the company that did the state poll--and which specializes in hunting-related surveys--about their full results. Mark Duda, executive director of Responsive Management, was nice enough to send me the links to two thorough surveys they did on New Jersey hunting attitudes and the way people view hunting different species.

Duda doubts this week's poll results. "I'd have to see how the question was worded but that result would fly in the face of all other research," he says. Indeed, the poll question does push. I wish they had just asked a straightforward question.

QUESTION: The state of New Jersey has protected black bears since 1970 with only two trophy hunts permitted in the past forty years. The state is now considering allowing hunters to kill up to 400 black bears. Do you support or oppose the hunting of black bears in New Jersey?

But the results fall in line almost exactly with a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind 2007 poll that also had 44% disapproving and 41% approving and that question was straightforward:

 Now lastly, thinking about bear hunting in New Jersey… in general, do you approve or disapprove of allowing a bear hunting season in New Jersey?

But they found that if they could skew results if they gave a preable that said scientists said there were too many bear and the were destroying private property. (See here)

Responsive Management just asks straight up if people approve or disapprove of hunting, fishing and trapping. They got 66% approve of hunting versus 28% disapprove (40% strongly approve, 26% moderately approve; 4% are on the fence; 6% moderately disapprove, 22% strongly disapprove and 4% don't know).

I do find the language in Responsive Management's write up of survey results a bit skewed toward the pro-hunting stance of their wildlife agency clients. They continually describe the belief that hunting may hurt an endangered species erroneous. In general, sure. But that doesn't take into account wolves out west, condors and the general suspicion that wildlife departments that are funded by hunters skew what are supposed to be scientific results to promote hunting opportunities. (Hello, Wyoming.) But their 2004 survey questions aren't biased and the poll is probably the most comprehensive we've got on attitudes towards hunting and wildlife in New Jersey. Their random phone survey found that:

7% of NJ residents consider themselves hunters
11% say someone in their household hunted in the last 5 years
40% thought the NJ wildlife division was using science as its primary guide
17% thought hunting and fishing were part of scientific management of species
39% thought they weren't doing enough to protect wildlife (again, the language in the report minimizes this group)
50% daily access the internet (to me that seems like an older crowd, but their data says it's not)

86% have no interest in hunting
75% wouldn't even go if they didn't need a license and a friend invited them

Aside from that, our biggest source of information is the 2006 National Survey of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife-Associated Recreational that says only 1% of New Jersey residents hunt, but 23%, or 1.5 million, like to watch wildlife.

Responsive Management also did a comprehensive, rigorous survey on national attitudes towards hunting different species. They found that 78% approved of hunting deer, but for black bear it fell to 47%.

Will we ever get a poll that all sides are satisfied is truly unbiased? Fox has its own poll. You're never going guess what happened there. People who go to Fox News support the hunt. What are the odds? New Jersey hunting groups are getting out the word to vote on a NJ.com poll. They're saying the "antis" are trying to skew results, but I see many entreaties from all over the hunting world to vote pro-bear hunt.

Right now there seems to be little interest in balancing the interests of hunters and wildlife watchers according to their numbers or following any real science. Instead we have a system that if there's a Republican governor, state biologists will find a way to hunt and if there's a Democratic governor, they'll find another way to control the population.  And they wonder why so many doubt the validity of their science?

Where to Go to See  Wildlife in the Northeast

Where to Go to See Bears

NJ Hunters Suspicious of Any Poll That Shows People Don't Like Bear Hunting

The Humane Society released a poll Sunday showing that a plurality (45%) of New Jersey residents oppose the bear hunt the state just approved for this winter. Expect a backlash of hunters who don't believe it, but the survey isn't a fluke: it shows the long-term decline of the popularity of hunting.

The survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. that showed 45% of voters oppose the hunt versus 35% supporting it, with 4% margin of error. I would've like to see more than 635 people polled, but it's still random. And it shows the growing discomfort with hunting bears just for fun. Public opinion has shifted--ever so slightly--against hunting since a similar 2004 poll by Fairly Dickinson University. That survey 44%  of NJ residents disapproves a hunt and 41% approved.  They polled 701 voters and had a margin of error of 4%.


As I've pointed out before, NJOA tells its members that "there are 650,000 of us, which is approximately 15% of all voters." They're counting people who hunt OR fish. And then it seems just for good measure doubling their numbers.


The reality is hunting is in decline. The latest National Survey of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife-Associated Recreational say of 7 million New Jersey residents, only 1% hunt, about 86,000 people hunt, but 23%, or 1.5 million, like to watch wildlife. But state wildlife agencies, funded only by hunting permits, serve hunters almost exclusively. Hunters spend $137 million in New Jersey, but wildlife watchers spent $631 million.

Hunters will point to this 2004 scientific poll, which was paid for by the state, which shows 66 percent of New Jersey residents approve of hunting. It's by Responsive Management, a real polling group, but one that does pro-hunting and fishing surveys. For example some of their surveys cite as a reason people oppose hunting "perceived (erroneous) damage to wildlife populations and ecosystems." Yeah, tell that to people who don't like hunting reintroduced wolves. Their survey was of 400 New Jersey residents and had a margin of error of 4.9%. But that's not bear hunts, which as everyone knows are more controversial.
 
A poll at NJ.com is now getting all sorts of attention from both sides. Ammoland published a link to aon bear hunting after New Jersey Outdoor Alliance asked them to, fearing that "animal extremists have distributed the link to the poll through their global network." They hate that "people from all over the world are weighing in on what is a New Jersey issue," but, hey, hunters, join in.  

NJOA calls the NJ.com poll unscientific, which it totally is. It's a bunch of self-selected enthusiasts on both sides. We need truly unbiased polls and biology-based decisions, which we're never going to get with New Jersey's political wildlife system.

Where to Go to See  Wildlife in the Northeast

Where to Go to See Bears

Chicagoland Wildlife Refuge Could Be Chance to See Cougar, Trumpeter Swan, Cranes

This week the Fish and Wildlife Service announced they'd study a plan to start a wildlife refuge between Milwaukee and Chicago. What would the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge mean for wildlife watchers?
A chance to see cranes, trumpeter swan, otter, badger, coyote, deer--and possibly cougar, whooping cranes, a funny kind of squirrel and some threatened bats and turtles.


The Friends of the Hackmatack NWR  who have already been working for years to get this gonig, in part inspired by the fact that when Audubon Magazine boasted that "a wildlife refuge is located within an hour’s drive of every major metropolitan area" Chicago proved them wrong. It's the biggest city without one. This refuge takes note of the need for wildlife watching near where people live; it's designed to be within two hours of Chicago and Milwaukee. Judging by the excited email I got from my friend David Hall and others, I'd say it would be pretty popular.

Hackatack--named after the larch tree--would try to sew together the patchworkd of 88 parks and preserves already there so that wildlife can have some breathing room. The wildlife service wouldn't force anyone out, but they would offer to buy property within the refuge boundaries.

I did some research on what animals we might expect to see if we visited the refuge:


Cougar:  The Cougar Network has two confirmed sightings in the refuge area since 2008, one with physical evidence, the other verified by a qualified pro.

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan: Maybe! This endangered native swan is already very close by in Wisconsin and has benefitted from a massive reintroduction program in Iowa. Illinois seems to be doing next to nothing for these straight-necked swans--except accidentally shooting them down south.

Bats: McHenry County has six species of bats. That includes four that Wisconsin is keeping special watch over:  Eastern Red Bat, Hoary Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, and the Silver-haired Bat.

Whooping Cran © Luther Goldman

Cranes: Sandhill cranes definitely pass through. The site is on the flyway of the flock of 21 endangered whooping cranes that summer in Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin and winter in  Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. They are famously being taught the route, which makes stopovers in national wildlife refuges, by ultralight aircraft.

River Otter: Yep, it's all over Wisconsin

Franklin's Ground Squirrel © Tom Schultz

Franklin's Ground Squirrel: Wisconsin calls this a species of greatest concern. It's like a small prairie dog, but quiter and less entertaining.




Badger: Badgers are all over Wisconsin, but rarely seen.

Owls : McHenry has 13 species of owl, including the snowy owl.

Blanding's Turtle: This threatened turtle takes 17 to 20 years to reach maturity.

Blanding's Turtle

Black Bear: Probably not, says Wisconsin, who rates appearances here as rare. No way, says Illinois, who says only one black bear has been seen in the state since 1870 and they kicked that one out.

Wolf: Nope

Lynx: No way

American Marten: No, he's all the way up on Lake Superior

 Where to See More Animals Around the Midwest

A Guide To Yellowstone Guides

To animal tourists, Yellowstone National Park is Mecca, with a Broadway show that also somehow includes the the U.S. Capitol. You have to go once; it's spectacular, important, historical. But most Americans don't ever get to go. If you do go, chances are you can't stay as long as you'd like. So, even though it's a wildlife wonderland, you may want to hire a guide so you don't miss out.

Normally animaltourism.com focuses on seeing animals close to where people live in cities and suburbs. Anybody can tell you there are a lot of bears in Alaska or Wyoming. (And too many guide books give that kind of impractical and expensive advice.) But since my husband and I are planning a trip to Yellowstone, I'm checking out all the options there and assembling a guide to the guides.

These guides are expensive. But these are the people that know Yellowstone wildlife intimately, professionally and may be able to save you from an afternoon hoping for a bear jam. If you're only traveling with a couple people, the science centers seem ideal. The private tours are generally priced for groups of four to six, making them two to three times more expensive for couples.  I'm sure this chart will grow and I'd like to focus on each in depth.

Check out the chart of Yellowstone Guides

Wyoming's Wonderful ASCII Wildlife Maps

Wyoming has done something very cool for wildlife lovers. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department took advantage of their state's rectangular shape and created ASCII wildlife maps for a report, Atlas of Birds, Mammals, Amphibians, and Reptiles in Wyoming.

Wyomingcame up with these elegant and useful maps by dividing the perfectly rectangular state into latilongs--rectangles that cover an area of one degree of latitude by one degree of longitude. Wyoming has exactly 28 latilongs--seven across and four down.

So if you want to find out if badgers live in your area--or if badgers are very prevalent in Wyoming just look at the handy grid for your section. Laramie, you're 27. Casper, 19 is your number. And Yellowstone, you are number 1.

Where to See Wildlife Out West

The One Percent of NJ Residents Who Hunt Aim For Bear This December

With the election of a Republican governor, Chris Christie, New Jersey restarting its bear war. The first hunt in five years will almost certainly scheduled for this December. The one percent of New Jersey residents who hunt  are eager to get started.

That's right, only one percent of of New Jersey residents hunt. The latest National Survey of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife-Associated Recreational of the Fish and Wildlife Service says that in a population of 7 million, only about 86,000 people hunt, or 1%. By contrast 1.5 million or 23% like to watch wildlife.

Does the 1% figure sound low? That's because hunters like to exaggerate their numbers. Anthony Mauro, head of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, urged hunters to vote for Christie in part so they could shoot bear: "The outdoorsmen/women of NJ can make the difference – remember, there are 650,000 of us, which is approximately 15% of all voters."

Who are these phantom hunters he's talking about? NJ Outdoor Alliance claims in its "Just the Facts" section that the state has "562,000 hunters and anglers...among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $1 billion a year on hunting and fishing, according to a new report."

What report are they citing? The same one I am. Only they are counting anglers. That's people who fish, not hunt bear. There are eight times as many recreational fishermen than hunters. And that 15%? Who knows? That's almost double the percentage of people who hunt or fish and 15 times the number who hunt.

NJOA brags that "outdoorsmen" spend $1 billion. Hunters spend $137 million. That's impressive until you realize wildlife watchers spent $631 million.

The new pro-hunting policy was supposed to be unveiled February 9, NorthJersey.com says.
Now you can expect hear the debate about in at next month's meeting March 9 at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Robbinsville. Or, actually you won't hear the arguments. Dr. Len Wolgast, chairman of the fish and game council, says they'll go into (secret) executive session to discuss the policy.

The NJ bear war is long-running and both sides are entrenched. Hunters claims black bears will surely eat children unless hunting flourishes. The New Jersey Bear Group wants to rely on non-lethal bear control, like chasing bears away and good garbage cans.

Where to See Bear

Where to See Wildlife in the Northeast

More Bear News

The Bear Who Will Objectify You

The bear who helped T.J. Miller get a role in the upcoming Yogi Bear movie is used to playing the straight man.

"We have taught our animals to look at actors and cameramen as props and to not even focus on them," says Eric Weld, the owner and trainer at Hollywood Animals. That doesn't exactly sound like you'll build up a close rapport, but I guess it beats getting mauled.

About one to four people a month pay the $600 for a personal animal encounter, usually with bears or tigers, Weld says. The animal playdate business is seasonal (winter is slow) and impacted by the economy. Most people are just happy to hang out with the animal (under close supervision of a trainer), take some pictures and offer the animal some treats.

To get the animals used to being around people, they have to be handled from a young age and live in the trainer's house. That means they're usually bought from a breeder, Weld says, not that they wouldn't take a rescue if one came along. "We use affection-training methods as the grow older, after they have had time to be cubs of course," Weld says. "We believe that the first way to have a relationship with any wild animal is to create a bond with them when they are young and continue that bond through mutual respect and understanding between trainers and animals."

$600 Playdate with a Bear Leads to Big Hollywood Role

Here's a goofy video of comedian T.J. Miller acting and interacting with a bear in hopes of getting a part in Yogi Bear, a combo live-action/animated movie by Warner Brothers. It worked. He got the part of Ranger Jones, thanks to his enterprising tape.

He thanks Hollywood Animal Ranch at the end of the video. By that I think he means Hollywood Animals, which says it trains bears from cubs and treats them well. (Where and how the bear cubs, elephants and big cats are acquired, I don't know.)

No word on whether the bear Bam Bam worked for free for this occassion, or if TJ Miller paid the customary  fee of $595 for two hours. "Just you and the animals of your choice like a tiger, white lion, leopard, bear, panther or cub for an unique animal experience," they pitch. That means for $600, you can get a date with a bear and play Ranger Jones, too.


Here's where you can see bears in the wild (or at rehabilitation facilities).

Bear Rescuer Shares His Secrets on National Geographic Sunday

Bear rescuer Casey Anderson has a fascinating show on bearology on National Geographic this Sunday. He tracks grizzlies in the wild, then shows you their behavior in depth up close with Brutus, a bear he rescued as a cub. The knowledge he's been able to gain by living closely with 7-year-old, 700-pound Brutus make Expedition Grizzly, which is on May 3 at 9 p.m., put him a step above the average bear documentary.

Anderson is a very hands-on documentarian. He came into the Peoplepets.com office this week and told us he spent weeks in the field getting shots like a nerve-wracking encounter among two young siblings and an older alpha bear. He's had Brutus since the grizzly was just a few weeks old, so he's picked up bear body language and tells probably better than the biologist in the field. Since he can read Brutus so well, he has a good idea what other bears in the wild are thinking.

He doesn't mistake Brutus for a pet or a wild bear, but puts him somewhere in between. Brutus was born in one of the many animal attractions around the country that tries to make their animals have crowd-drawing cubs, he says. The attractions end up doing what the Wall Street Journal recently reported, European zoos do: they don't bother with birth control, then end up euthanizing the extra animals they can't take care of--which often end up as food for the other animals.

Anderson keeps four bears in a sanctuary at the Montana Grizzly Encounter. Brutus' acting jobs and visits from tourists en route to Yellowstone help pay for the huge costs of keeping the bears.

Anderson explains with some simple graphics how the island of bears around Yellowstone could easily be connected to the bigger population to the northwest. That would help solve some bear conflicts and allow them to move to more hospitable ground when they needed to. All it would take is a few land bridges over major highways, which grizzlies are reluctant to cross.

The show is a nice preview of what you might learn at the Grizzly Encounter. I hope I get to make there some day to see Brutus in person.

Adirondack Garbage Dumps & Bears

Garbage dumps in the Adirondacks only a few years ago used to draw huge crowds to see black bears, but someone thought better of the idea and closed them off.

When I was fishing around for places in New York to reliably see animals for a story for New York, a guy from the state Department of Environmental Protection told me the garbage dumps in the Adirondacks were the most reliable place to see bear. When I visited the Adirondacks last week I asked the woman who rented us the cottage. Much to my surprise, she was all over the garbage dumb scene.

Just a few years ago dozens of people would show up at the garbage dumps, presumably at dusk, to see the bears. Sometimes the crowd would be thirty people, with the ranger feeding the bear a marshmallow on a stick.

Of course, the current thinking is that this kind of thing is exactly what leads to bear conflicts. A fed bear is a dead bear. Bears grow start associating people with food. Yellowstone Park once had similar, much more formal bear feeding stations, where they would dump the garbage and let tourists watch the bears.

Where to See Animals in the Northeast
Where to See Bears

Polar Bears Arrive in Iceland

Iceland is starting to get polar bears, but so far is just getting rid of them. Two polar bears have shown up in the last two weeks on the island that's hundreds of miles away from where polar bears usually live, Discovery reported.

Not knowing what to do with the first one, they shot it. They're trying to catch the second one and move it to Greenland. Icelandic billionaire Thor BjorgolfssonBjoergulfur Thor Bjoergulfsson has volunteered to pay for the move so that Icelandic authorities don't shoot the second bear.

Polar bears would normally be pouncing on seals from polar ice eating seals, but that ice melt has caused them to look for other territory. The one in Iceland was seen eating eggs and birds.

Who knows whether the polar bear could survive on Iceland, which because of cold and an over-farming environmental disaster has very few plants and animals. But the best away to find out would be to let them try. It's not like we're talking about a heavily populated area here--it's Iceland, northern Iceland. When I went to Iceland one of the few disappointments was how little wildlife they had. Polar bears in Iceland would be a big tourist attraction.

Where to See Wildlife in Europe
Where to See Bears

Wolves and Bear Find Shelter with Chicagoland Biology Teacher

Big Run Wolf Ranch, Lockport, IL


Three species of wolves (British Columbian, Arctic and Grey Timber) interact intermingled in three different pens. Biology teacher Julie Basile and her husband John (who founded the ranch 18 years ago) track their interactions and move them to different groups when they see there's trouble coming, either in the form of too rough dominance fights or mating season.
Once secluded, the ranch is now crowded by houses and planned businesses. But the ranch is still growing. They visit schools or have nearby scouts and school groups come visit and learn about wolves. The wolves jump up and lick their caretakers.




In addition to the wolves, the Basiles have taken in other animals that need help and a place to live. Wildlife officials came to John in 2000 with a 20 pound black bear cub that someone had bought at a flea market for $200 and tried to raise in an apartment until neighbors thought better of the idea. They would have euthanized the bear, now known as Kuma, that day, but the ranch took the bear in and built a proper enclosure, pool, shower and hibernation hut. Kuma likes to show off to crowds and wrestles with John.

The ranch also has several shy coyotes, wild cats, horses, dogs, peacocks and a rescued descented skunk. Kirby looks different than a wild skunk because he's a domesticated variety and he smells different because he's been descented. He's friendly, cuddly and instintively holds a person's fingers with his claws like a baby does.

Where to See More Animals in the Midwest
Where Else Can I See Wolves?