June 5, 2005

Not In My Backyard...

Lesley Stahl Reports On The Growing Grizzly Bear Population Out West

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By Rebecca Leung

Play CBS Video Video Bears In The Backyard
The grizzly bear population in rural Wyoming is surging, and residents are starting to feel threatened. But there's not much they can do about it, 60 Minutes' Leslie Stahl reports.

Putting grizzly bears on the endangered list may have worked too well in parts of the West. (CBS)

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(CBS) Grizzlies are a nearly constant presence in Wapiti from March to November, the eight months they spend out of their dens. They’re crossing the roads like any other pedestrian, and sniffing around homes for food. Soon after a bear-proof fence went up around the school playground, a bear slammed into it, and ran off. Many residents say they came here to be close to the wildlife, but not this close…

"My worst fear would be that -- to see a bear running away with my little Claire in his mouth," says Oswald.

"Telling you that they haven't killed anybody in these kinds of communities is not comforting enough?" asks Stahl.

"Not when you hear about people getting their scalps sewed back on, and things like that," says Oswald.

People in the region are attacked by grizzlies every year – mostly hunters and hikers. Eight were attacked last summer alone.

Oswald's father tried to scare one grizzly out of their yard -- a grizzly that was totally unfazed, even when showered with a pair of boots. The bear barely budged.

If Oswald's father had shot it, he could have gone to jail.

The same is true for cattleman Curt Bales, manager of the TE Ranch outside Cody, if he had shot any of the grizzlies that have killed several of his cattle each year.

With more grizzlies invading private property, Bales chafes under the limits of the Endangered Species Act, which allows him to protect himself from grizzlies but not his cattle. He says the feds have let the bear population get out of hand.

"There's only room for so many out there in this area. And the food source is only going to support so many. It'd be like us putting 1,000 head of cows into a pasture that may only feed 500 head," says Bales.

Are there too many grizzlies in the area? "I think there are too many in this area, yes," says Bales.

But as long as the grizzly is on the endangered list, the only thing Bales can do if he sees a grizzly attacking a calf is call biologist Mark Bruscino, who runs the “human bear conflict” program at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Continued