Fears That Famous Black Bear ‘Hope’ Shot Dead By Permit Hunter In Minnesota US

Posted on 28 Sep 2011 at 11:03am

The adorable black bear is famous all around the world following her long 22-hour incredible birth being filmed and broadcast live via a webcam in 2010.

But now the world famous bear named ‘Hope’ is feared dead after being shot and killed by a permit hunter in Minnesota, US.

hope

Fears That Famous Black Bear Hope Shot Dead By Permit Hunter In Minnesota US

Hope who featured in the BBC documentary; ‘The Bear Family and Me’  as part of Dr Rogers black bear behavioural research.

Now biologists fear the worst has happened to Hope after the GPS trackers confirmed that her mother Lily had been to visit a known hunters bait site but could not account for the rest of the family.

“Unless there is some specific identification, we don’t know if it is Hope or not,” said Minnesota’s Department Natural Rersources spokesperson Chris Niskanen.

“As far as we are concerned if a hunter shot a bear in that area and shot it legally that’s pretty much the end of the story”, added Dr Rogers who has spent the last 45-years of his life dedicated to studying the Black bear and is leading authority on the animals behaviour and ecology.

A hunter has now come forward to confirm that he killed a yearling female in the area on 16 September and Hope would have been the only yearling female black bear in the area without a collar.