Only two days before the launch of the #SAVEBCBEARS initiative at savebcbears.org, the female grizzly bear #Bear148 died at the hands of a trophy hunter after it wandered across the border from Alberta to B.C. The famously curious female grizzly was wearing a research collar and has been dubbed as "Cecil the lion of B.C.". The hunting of grizzly bears has been banned in Alberta since 2006 - but in the neighbouring province of British Columbia, the killing of grizzly bears remains legal. #Bear148 was killed by a non-resident hunter. She was also a female bear nearing the age to have cubs. A typical female may give birth to a maximum of ten cubs over her lifetime, half of which usually die within a year. Surviving cubs usually remain with the mother for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years, during which time the mother will not mate. The grizzly bear is the second slowest reproducing land mammal in North America, one that is threatened throughout much of its range. Population fragmentation like the death of Bear148 puts entire local populations at risk -- Bear148 was critical to the recovery of her home population in the Bow Valley of Alberta, where grizzlies are threatened and only about 700 remain. Despite the critical importance of female bears to the health of grizzly populations, 1/3 of the grizzlies killed in B.C. are females. For this reason and more, we need to do everything we can to ensure one of the last refuges of the grizzly bear is fully protected. Head to savebcbears.org now to get involved with Pacific Wild's efforts to help #saveBCbears.