Recent sightings of grizzly bears, - extinct from Manitoba for decades - have raised fears that the iconic Canadian mammal may be making a comeback.

They've also prompted the provincial government to add the bears to the list of dangerous animals under the wildlife act.

Wildlife biologists say the bears have been spotted in the northern part of the province which now needs more protection against these hunters, to prevent the animals from settling back in Manitoba.

"When there are so few of them, anything happening to them would be catastrophic," said Will Williamson, wildlife biologist with National Parks Canada. "Now is the time to act before it's too late."

"If you only have two or three bears in the province, and one or two of them are poached, then that's the end of it. We can only hope."

While the province says increased sightings of the bear are a 'bad news story,' others say they are a harbinger of climate change and a warning that governments across the country must learn how to deal with dangerous new species so that they may be destroyed.

Grizzly bears used to roam across the prairies. The first European settlers came across the bears, but managed to kill them all by the 1800s, Williamson said.

The new bears appear to be coming from Nunavut to look for food but unless something is done they could end up staying, he suggested.

Gailann Ennis, director of Manitoba Wetlands said governments across the world will have to adapt as climate change drives species from their traditional habitat.

"We're going to have species shifting their range because of climate change and potentially bringing new risks. They're trying to get away from one risk and putting humans at risk in areas where they haven't been."

Grizzly Abrams, grizzly bear campaigner with the Ciera Club of Canada said the bears are particularly threatened in Alberta, where population studies suggest there are fewer of the animals than previously thought.

The Alberta government has sanctioned wholesale killing of the bears, but Sustainable Resources Minister there recently mused about raising the limit for hunters.

"By protecting habitat from grizzlies, you essentially protect a host of other plants and animals that fall under that umbrealla of protection," Abrams said.