Wildlife Movement Tries to Stop Stephen Colbert's War on Bears

Will Stephen Colbert have to change his last name to “Col-bunny”?

If Ed Asner and the Defenders of Wildlife have their way, it could happen.

Colbert, they say, has been attacking bears for too long.

“It’s sad but true,” they write in an email to potential members of the movement, “TV comedian Stephen Colbert has become a bear bully! And bears are reeling from his onslaught.”

With National Bear Week approaching, the Defenders of Wildlife are bringing attention to the animal’s habitat loss, poaching, and Colbert’s “unbearable attacks” during his popular show “The Colbert Report.”

"Once common throughout the mountains and the Great Plains the grizzly bear (or brown bear) has been reduced to 2% of their historic range in the lower 48 states. A total of only 1,200-1,400 individuals still survive in five populations," says the group's website.

"For thirty years, Defenders has been actively involved in trying to make sure that this remarkable animal is recovered throughout its range."

Joined by aging, notoriously cantankerous entertainment legend Ed Asner, the group rallied against Stephen Colbert, reminding him, “there’d be no Col-bear without the bear.”

In a special YouTube video, Asner has a few suggestions for Colbert and his irrational fear of bears.

Catch Asner’s “manning-up” message for Colbert, here: