There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Tracking Gobi Grizzlies. "The number I like best is 500," Harry said. "That's how many I've caught and collared since the last time I lost one during the process." Back when Harry worked with the Craigheads, the capture and sedation of free-roaming grizzlies was seat-of-the-pants science. Biologists learned what worked best under different conditions by a trail-and-error, "Run-for-it!" approach. They were experimenting with an assortment of veterinary drugs to find out which concoctions would work safely and effectively. Certain compounds were discovered to cause perilous side effects. Most needed to be administered at a precise dosage, which meant that the biologist had to estimate a target animal's weight quite closely. When the subject is a big, broad, toothy beast wearing a fur coat, it's extremely hard to keep perception from overruling reality. Upon seeing a 300-to-400-pound grizzly, the average person can be counted on to describe a bear weighing at least twice that much. Then there are the folks who would double that figure again, telling stories of running into a grizz that "musta weighed close to a ton." For even an expert to be off by a hundred pounds or more isn't unusual. .....There was a lot of bear to wash. The crew arranged a rope harness around the male and attached it to the lower hook of a weight scale. The upper hook was tied to a pole about five feet long. Two rangers, one at each end of the pole, lifted it into the air. A little way. Two more crew members grabbed on to help. It was still a struggle to get the bear high enough off the ground that his head and legs swung freely in the air. Others on the team crowded in to lend an arm. The scale only read up to 150 kilograms. That wasn't quite enough. The mass of our bear pulled the marker half an inch beyond the last number. Harry estimated the animal's weight at 155 to 160 kilograms - at least 350 pounds. The largest bear previously documented in the study was the male named Yokozuna, after the champion sumo-style wrestlers. This was the bear that helped dissuade Mongolian authorities from opening up part of the reserve to gold mining years earlier.
Bears of the Himalayan Mountains
