
          Bear Poaching in North_Carolina
          By Davenport, ElaineElaine Davenport
          Vol. 11, No. 4, 1989, p. 21
          
          Hundreds of black bears are being poached in the southern
Appalachian Mountains for their heads, hides, teeth, claws, feet, pads
and gall bladders. "When we caught him this one guy was carrying 29
gall bladders--some no bigger than a coin, so they were probably from
summertime cub bears," said Ben Wade, who polices crimes against
wildlife for the state of North_Carolina.
          Today's poachers are armed with CB radios, four-wheel drive
vehicles, and $5,000 hunting dogs wearing radio-tracking
collars. Black bear gall bladders, which sell for up to $1,000 an
ounce in many large cities, are used for medicine, especially by
Asians, for ailments such as heart conditions and high blood pressure,
jaundice and digestive disorders.
          Bear claws are made into earrings and necklaces and bear heads and
hides are displayed as trophies and used for decoration.
          Black bears are not endanged and with the proper licenses
and permits can be legally hunted in the Great Smokies for seven weeks
a year. However, scientists worry about a rapidly dwindling black bear
population since there are about as many illegal as legal kills being
made. To combat poaching, state and federal agencies pooled $160,000
for a sting called Operation Smoky. More than 50 arrests resulted but
Wade is not optimistic.
          Bears have less than 10 percent of their original habitat left in
the southern Appalachians, and the habitat that remains is confined to
protected areas. "The concern has been that the protected areas are
like islands, not connected corridors, and the wildlife have few
alternatives but to survive in those enclaves," says Wade.
        
