Second-guessing guys with guns in the field is too messy, legally and politically.  The Law of the United States is no good, apparently; we want the will of Artemis, goddess, protectress of vulnerable animals, to strike down those who offend her will.

Not that Artemis is all that reliable.  Remember what happened to Matthew Shepard, at the hands of self-righteous Wyoming thugs, who have not wanted for thuggish-minded defenders.

Anyway, as for this wandering-southward polar bear, a girl, who paid for her adventurousness and curiosity with her life: Right, as JavaEarth would say, Kill kill kill.  Very smart.  Very civilized.

As for lynx carcasses: Doubly pathetic.  Why the hell !!! is there a market for lynx hides?!

And, why does a wandering polar bear have nothing to feed on save discarded lynx carcasses?!

Really, Alaska is a waste.

Or rather, not Alaska, Alaskans.  Alaskans are a waste.  They are self-entitled and destructive.  So why in the world should we subsidize them further?  In thanks for all the petroleum they are pumping to the Lower 48?  Ha!

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

[And I'm not referring to you units for measuring the fineness of silk nor French coins withdawn from use in the 19th century.]

Yes, the climate of our planet has undergone change before and will continue to change. It is always changing. And yes, plants and animals have adapted before and will continue to adapt. They are always evolving in response to environmental change.

But your logic for not worrying about climate change breaks down under current circumstances, as illustrated by the now dead polar bear. Before humans spread across the planet, reduced populations of animals well below historic levels, and blocked natural migration routes, the polar bear in question would have been the first of many to explore other environments and perhaps establish new population centers. As the ice melted, a few intrepid bears might have moved inland and found new niches they were suitable for. Given sufficient numbers, the species as a whole would continue to exists, perhaps in a different form, but the lineage would continue.

However, under current circumstances, there is no longer sufficient opportunity for populations to shift to new areas. As animals pressured by climate change search for new opportunities, they are going to find guns and strip malls standing in their way. And genes suitable for new environments will be lost along with the genes suitable for the old environments.

If you wish to continue to say that the climate is always changing  and plants and animals have always managed to adapt, generally if not specifically, then you should also recognize that plants and animals need sufficient numers, corridors to new habitat, and new habitat to move to.

As you deny anthropogenic climate change, I hope you will also call on our government to restrict hunting, set aside vastly more natural space for plants and animals (no hunting, no development, no drilling, no mining, no timber removal), and demand humans restructure their communities and agricultural practices to accomodate large predators and their prey, perhaps even sacrificing the occasional fool who gets in the way of a polar bear, rather than sacrificing the polar bear.

It seems that the only animal that is not willing to adapting to the new climate is Humans. "The almighty, we can rule over every thing, cause we are so intelligent" - humans! Majority of people, either: do not believe in climate change, do not care about climate change, or do absolutely nothing to minimize their own contribution to a poor future.

Even though humans have done the most man made damage to our planet, I think we'll be the ones that suffer the least - case an point the "little" polar bear girl. It will be the other entire creature that will die of first.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the shooting". - erm,, oh yes, I completely trust their desicions! - Their "desicion" to support hunters!

I only have this one life, so I am going to try my very best to make a positive change. --- The Happy & Healthy Vegan ---

"If your personal morality includes letting yourself be killed and eaten, may Buddah bless you..."

My personal morality does not include letting myself be killed and eaten. Natural selection removed most of those genes from the human gene pool long ago. However, it DOES include not venturing into areas where I might feel compelled to kill a large  carnivore already threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, over hunting, and pollution. Furthermore, if I did want to venture into such areas, my personal morality would include making sure I learn how to avoid contact with such predators or drive them away in the event of a conflict.

Human beings really have to stop courting danger and then getting upset when a few other people don't have a whole lot of sympathy for them.

Regarding the Buddha, I don't believe he is around to confer blessings. In my opinion, it is really just a matter of recognizing what one can see or acquire without harming oneself or others. If a person really really wants to enter a wild area or push human civilization -- or lack thereof -- into such areas, he has to be prepared to accept the consequences, which might include 500+ pound bears hunting YOU.

Good grief! The era of conquering the wilderness and killing all competing predators -- bears, wolves, raptors, et cetera -- is over! Please put away your musket a relax. One can enjoy wildlife without killing it.

Can you recommend a book or set of books containing a collection of Jatakas? I've been searching for such a book with very limited success. It is apparently difficult to find a complete set of Jatakas in one place.

Thanks.

[I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread of discussion, which I wish more people were interested in.]

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?title=jataka

The story about the rabbit I recall hearing in a lecture given by some expert in South Asian religion.  The anthology of basic Buddhist literature that I studied from, back in the 1980s, here at Columbia, is the venerable "The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan," edited by Columbia's great Neo-Confucian scholar William Theodore de Bary.  And none of the Jatakas is included!, which suggests that mainstream scholars do not think they are centrally important.

And yet there is an important prose commentary on them (and I get the impression that Jataka is a plural form, so I err by putting an "s" at the end) in a very important place: in the second "Basket" of the Tripitaka ("Three Baskets," the Buddhist canon), viz. the Suttapitaka ("Basket of Discourses"), which is the Basket of the highest prestige of the three; and, within that Basket, in the Minor Group (Khuddaka Nikaya), along with the celebrated Dhammapada (translated as The Way of Truth, or Way of Righteousness), one of the most beautiful religious texts that I know.

So good luck!

I entirely agree with what you wrote, by the way, about how we have moved beyond the unenlightened age of unfriendly competition with predators, and how there is something immoral about going into the wilderness to seek out a possibly violent encounter with a dangerous animal.

In the case of the polar bear whom hunters shot "in self defense" near Fort Yukon, well, they might be telling the truth, on the one hand. On the other hand, they were "loaded for bear" to begin with, looking for grizzlies, and why should we consider such a pointlessly bloody sport as that to be totally self-explanatory and acceptable?

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

I hope and do not hope I have to personally deal with this issue. Where I currently live, I don't have to worry about bears and wolves. However, bears and wolves, and now cougars, are wondering far beyond their current range in Wisconsin. A bear was spotted -- and killed -- within 30 miles of my home. A wolf was hit by a car in southeastern Wisconsin. I don't know where the kangaroo came from. What would I do if I met up with such a creature while walking the dog late at night? Would I hope someone would find it the next day and eliminate the "threat"? Would it be a threat? Would it have to be killed? Could we coexist where we never had to coexist before?

Just babbling, I suppose... but I would like to know what other folks think about this issue.

Can someone direct me to an organization dedicated to finding ways for humans and other large predators to coexist? Or at least live near one another?

Polar bears, cougars, wolves, tigers... we can't continue killing every single one that encounters a human being. Either we back off and give them some habitat or learn to protect ourselves from aggression.