Controversial one-eared bear dies

Folks may remember the Christmas-time controversy of Solo the one-eared bear and her cubs who hibernated under a cabin near Tower. The DNR initially expressed an intent to kill the bears before a public outcry demanded her rescue. Gov. Tim Pawlenty pardoned the bears and the DNR instead sent them to a bear farm in northern Michigan.

Well, Solo didn't wake up from hibernation. Her cubs are OK but Solo passed away in her sleep. Experts say that her heart rate probably slowed down too much during sleep, which I think is true of any living creature who dies in its sleep.

In honor of Solo I will try not to make light of this sad story. I don't think my readers could bear it at this time.

Somebody really hates bears

Do you remember the big controversy last month when the DNR announced it was going to shoot one-eared female bear named Solo and her two cubs because they were hibernating underneath a cabin near the Vermilion Range town of Tower? Right, well, after the media flurry the governor "pardoned" the bear, asking the DNR to find non-lethal means of dealing with Solo.

So when the DNR goes to load up the bears for a trip to a sanctuary they find that someone went under the cabin and sprayed the bears with pepper spray. The conservation officers found the bears nearby, awake and with irritated eyes.

Freaking-A, Vermilion Rangers. First you get attention for a bunch of yahoos terrorizing campers in the BWCA and then one of you sprays these sleeping bears, probably because they was defended by environmentalists. You've got bigger problems than campers and bears, people. You're lucky to have avoided the poetic irony of being eaten by the one-eared bear.

Note to all: The drunken, disorganized battle against hippies and lawyers does not involve attacking hibernating bears.

From today's Duluth News-Tribune:

A formerly hibernating bear and its two cubs were moved today to a bear sanctuary in northern Michigan by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, apparently ending a life-and-death saga.

Solo the bear, which was hibernating under a home in Eagles Nest Township near Ely, had been marked for death by the DNR because it had threatened some people in the area. The DNR said the bear had lost its fear of humans and could become dangerous.

The word of Solo’s demise struck a chord with bear lovers, many of whom protested the death sentences. One Herman-town woman offered $1,000 to the cabin’s owner to let the bear family sleep out the winter. There was even talk of bear lovers buying the cabin so the bear could stay. The bear also had become famous as part of ongoing bear research by controversial Ely bear researcher Lynn Rogers.

In December Gov. Tim Pawlenty even weighed in, commuting the bear’s death sentence and ordering the DNR to move the bear somewhere else.

...

When DNR officials arrived at the property Monday, the bears were no longer hibernating under the cabin but were found awake nearby.

All three showed evidence of severe eye irritation from pepper spray, DonCarlos said. DNR conservation officers found an empty can of pepper spray on the property, and the area under the cabin where the bears were denned retained a heavy smell of the spray.

Conservation officers are investigating the attack on the bears.

T-Paw saves disfigured bear from lethal injection

In northern Minneosta, bear stories are on the news all the time. If I blogged every one this thing would be called MinnesotaBear. But I feel bad I've waited so long to talk about Solo, the one-eared bear from the Vermilion Range. Solo and her two cubs are hibernating underneath someone's porch. They called the DNR and the DNR, not known for their PR prowess, said they're going to kill it. I imagine before the media covered such things, this was often a first choice for the DNR.

Caller: Ya, there's a bear in my ...

DNR: We'll shoot it.

Caller: Well, you don't have to shoot it, it seems ...

DNR: (gun cocking) I'll be there in two minutes.

Caller: Seriously, you don't have to ...

DNR: BLAM BLAM BLAM!

Anyway, just like with cows it becomes politically difficult to kill things with names. After a week of debate in the media, the governor has intervened. See below:

Governor grants Solo reprieve
Don Davis, Forum State Capitol Bureau - 12/21/2007

“We are going to give the black bear a reprieve, a pardon,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced on his weekly Friday radio show. “It is a good pre-Christmas, pre-holiday announcement.

State Department of Natural Resources officials had considered putting Solo down because she had become too friendly with people, which could be dangerous. But now state officials say she will live out her life in a wildlife sanctuary, but no decision about where to send the bear family will be made until next week.

Solo is a 4-year-old, one-eared bear that has become well known to residents Eagles Nest Township near Tower. That is where she and her cubs are hibernating under a private cabin. Pawlenty, saying all he knew about the case was what he read in newspapers, came down on the bear’s side Friday.

“My feeling is this bear should not be euthanized,” Pawlenty declared.

Paul, a caller to Pawlenty’s show, said killing her would be “a waste of natural resources.”

The governor agreed, but said the state must keep children safe. “We obviously have to put those concerns first.”

DNR officials said Friday afternoon that the bear family will be sent to a captive facility where the three can live without “uncontrolled interactions with people.”

“This solution satisfies our original and primary concern about public safety,” said Michael Don Carlos, DNR wildlife research and policy manager. “The typical behavior of a black bear, like any wild animal, is to avoid humans. This bear is habituated to humans and has lost its fear of people, which makes it impossible to predict its behavior.”

DNR officials said they are looking into several locations for the bears.

If Pawlenty remains involved, look for Solo to receive some sort of judgeship, maybe on the appellate court. Unless it shows activist tendencies. After that, look for T-Paw to drop it off at Tom Rukavina's house.