Grizzly bear
(Vimeo screen grab / National Park Service)

Matthew Inman, creator of the popular comic “The Oatmeal,” is leveraging his strength in numbers to attempt to strengthen the numbers when it comes to grizzly bears in Washington’s North Cascades National Park.

Matthew Inman
Matthew Inman of “The Oatmeal” and “Exploding Kittens” signs autographs at Emerald City Comicon (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

In a new comic, Inman is directing his readers to learn more about a Department of the Interior program that could reintroduce grizzlies to the North Cascades. Overhunting and loss of habitat over the yeas have left fewer than 10 of the bears in the park, northeast of Seattle where Inman lives.

The artist says he has teamed with two non-profit organizations to fuel the grizzly effort. They needed $25,000 (which he ponied up) and 50,000 comments on the DOI website (which he’s hoping to get from his fans).

Inman provided sample comments in his comic that readers can cut and paste. And the timeline, which was set to expire on Tuesday, has been extended until April 28.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect a change in the amount of time allowed for people to comment. And the source of the video below has been corrected. It was produced by Chris Morgan Wildlife for Conservation Northwest, the National Parks Conservation Association, and other non-profits.

Watch the video for more information on the grizzly decline:

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