MINDEN PICTURES – Yellowstone Grizzlies to be Hunted?

This week there has been discussion by the US Fish and Wildlife Service about removing Yellowstone Grizzlies from the Endangered Species list. The process of ‘delisting’ a species begins with the determination that threats to the recovery and survival of the population has been eliminated. Last month’s study published in Molecular Ecology indicates the population in the park has a strong enough genetic diversity to continue its recovery. Paired with the four fold increase in the Park’s bear numbers over the past 25 years the scales are tipping towards the groups pushing to remove the animals from the Endangered Species list and open them to limited hunting outside the Park. The fate of the bears will be decided within the next few months. In the meanwhile, check out this gallery of species that have been delisted over the years as their populations have recovered including Peregrine Falcons, Alligators and Gray Whales.