JJ3--A Life Wasted to Avoid a Conflict

JJ3 was set up. He was not even in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was doing what he was supposed to be doing. And he was being tracked by a radio transmitter he wore, so there was no problem in monitoring his activities at any time. He had not done anything wrong.

Yet. And the "yet" became his death sentence.

On April 15, while most of us agonized over taxes, Swiss gamekeepers killed JJ3, a two year old brown bear that was part of an organized effort to reintroduce bears into the European habitat where they have become extinct. His older sibling was shot in Bavaria in 2006 for the same reason: he was considered a risk. Though authorities admit JJ3 had not exhibited aggressive behavior toward anyone, they defended their actions.

"JJ3 was getting bolder and bolder, and even let people observe him," the president of Graubünden, a canton in Switzerland, stated to CNN Europe.

Reinhard Schnidrig, the Chief Hunting Inspector of Switzerland, concluded in the same report that the bear´s untimely death was "an inevitability we all saw coming".

Contradictory reports are emerging regarding what attempts were actually made to dissuade JJ3, who achieved notoriety very quickly by searching for food near villages. Swiss authorities disclosed that gamekeepers shot at him with rubber bullets and exploded loud charges near him in efforts to scare him away from populated areas since rousing from hibernation. He was reported to have "encountered humans", too, in his quest for nourishment. The Swiss government no longer entertained the thought of saving JJ3 once he let people look at him.

His curiosity was his death knell. No question the only recourse at that point was death: a fed bear is a dead bear. Upon becoming suddenly inconvenient, he graduated quickly to being a problem, a "risk", and therefore, disposable. Easy to find with his GPS tracking device, the young brown bear was a sitting duck for those charged with the task of let´s-kill-the-bear. Does the old saying ´shooting fish in a barrel´ ring a bell?

Switzerland is not the only country with a bear of an issue.

Brown bears originally populated North America, Europe, Asia and Africa after the last ice age; however, they are now extinct in many areas as numbers decreased steadily with the encroachment of humans. Russia still has a decent brown bear population though Europe does not. Russia, though, could be next. As habitat loss is the main reason for brown bear endangerment, hunting follows a close second and is popular in Russia.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare reports that hunting the brown bear in Russia is big business. And takes no skill. Any hunter with $2000, a dog and a gun can obtain a license to get his bear. The "sport" of hunting the brown bear in Russia consists of the dogs barking and digging into hibernating dens while the hunters wait with guns poised to kill. The hunters shoot the confused bear as it lumbers out of its den, often leaving orphaned cubs who will die of starvation. Very sportsman-like. It is estimated 3000-4000 cubs die each year after being orphaned. That license to shoot one bear may very well claim three lives with one bullet.

Again, shooting fish in a barrel.

France is trying to set an example of re-introduction before local extinction occurs. The brown bear population in the Pyrenees Mountains was estimated between 14 and 18 individuals. There is a significant shortage of female brown bears, so in 2006, Slovenia agreed to import 15 brown bears to the region over the next few years. Is everyone happy now? Not at all. Local farmers and shepherds protested vigorously over the accord and have even shot some of the imported bears. Their economic arguments have not dissuaded the ecologists, and the war is on.

Those mountains, like so many other places, have become artificially wild, tailored to our perceptions of what "wild" should mean. "Wild" means a place for hikers, shepherds, campers and tourists to exist in a natural setting without danger or inconvenience. Pastoral and natural now mean being able to live peaceably in an environment one has created for one´s own comfort, without any unwanted distractions, but with the look of the untamed. We want our wild life to be convenient, friendly, clean and low maintenance.

A brown bear would just muck up the works.

Our responsibility is not only in protecting the brown bear, but in understanding how and why it is evolving. We are too slow to recognize that evolution still occurs, even on the tiniest level, while we tend to our day-to-day politics and other seemingly important duties. Other species are constantly changing in an attempt to survive in this dynamic environment we call earth. There are subtle, yet profound, physiological changes and geographical changes occurring in response to the increased habitat loss.

Perhaps local re-introduction of an extinct species is not the way to go; perhaps we need to investigate what new environment the evolved species requires to survive or is seeking out. Experts recently discovered the brown bear is extending its habitat north into polar bear inhabited regions as temperatures rise and make that environment more hospitable. This extension will undoubtedly cause conflict for food and territory as the two species interact and their evolution continues. But their movement is indicative of the changes taking place to ensure their survival.

JJ3 was a pawn and remains a prime example of the failure to recognize the full ramifications of re-introduction of species in the ongoing environmental chess game. More care and thoughtful consideration is necessary to prevent future slaughter of lives deemed inconvenient and disposable. With all the knowledge we possess, we must find a way to cohabitate with species who share this planet. We must learn to recognize and comprehend our own evolution in order to prevent the decimation of other species. Our present ignorance blatantly shows through our arrogant dominance for a domain we perceive as our own. Our next few moves must be executed more strategically or we all lose.

Checkmate.