The last surviving brown bear in the wild in Switzerland was shot by authorities last week out of concern for safety of the human population.
As a species, the brown bear which is the same as our grizzly, is listed as a species of least concern. The lowest listing possible at the IUCN. It's also a very large carnivore, and it's a sign of the times that there are fewer and fewer spaces large enough and unpopulated enough for them. It's never a good thing when the last of anything is gone.
Uncredited photo from news story, maybe it's the bear, maybe it's a stock photo
You just have to assume the wildlife managers were pretty sure that the bear was exhibiting signs of being unsafe that were irreversible.
http://www.roundnews.com/...
http://now.msn.com/...
I did a quick google about Switzerland and found it has about 200 people per kilometer, less densely populated than Connecticut but more so than Delaware, and only 8000 square kilometers of wilderness. I doubt they will try to re establish a population.
Here in the US we have a large brown bear population in Alaska. There is a fairly heavy bear mortality due to humans up there. One study I looked at in Canada showed more self defense or control mortality than hunting. http://www.jstor.org/... There are probably quite a few bears killed yearly in Alaska.
In the lower 48 off the top of my head I seem to remember people saying there have been more than 600 for quite a few years. (greater yellowstone region) There is a lot of discussion about wether to delist them, how many the habitat can hold, wether to have a hunting season, etc. Grizzly bears reproduce slowly. Also the reintroduction of the wolf might be having an affect on bear populations. Perhaps less calves to eat in the spring, perhaps more carcasses to steal in the summer.
One thing for sure, where man and brown bears occupy roughly the same habitat there are issues.
Reclist Update: A big thank you for the recs. I'll take the opportunity to give some good news about species recovery. The reintroduced elk population in Kentucky has grown to 5,000 individuals, and Virginia has decided to welcome the animals that wander into their state by helping some to move. The replanted strip mines make excellent browse I guess.