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All Non-lethal bear management Articles
TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — Jason Holley carefully lowered brother and sister bears into their new homefor winter Wednesday afternoon, hoping when they wake up in the spring, they won't see people again.
The 1-year-old black bear cubs were orphaned last June, when their mother was shot in the Carnelian Bay area. After a few months at the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care center, Holley, a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game, along with others from Fish and Game and the staff of the Sagehen Creek Field Station, sent them off into hibernation north of Truckee.
A new Parks Canada report has shown that over the past two decades nearly 23 black bears have been killed annually in the Rocky Mountain national parks.
The report indicates all of the mountain national parks, including Glacier, Revelstoke and Waterton Lakes, saw a total of 477 black bear mortalities between 1990-2009.
As the number of black bears in the US grows, largely due to protection measures taken over the past century, the chances of these animals interacting with humans increase as well. Wildlife authorities managing national parks, where this threat is most severe, turned to science to help them devise the best possible methods of keeping bears away from thrash cans, and therefore reducing the risks of violent encounters with humans. Details of the work appear in the January issue of the respected Journal of Wildlife Management, Wired reports.
CHASE: Teaching them to avoid people works best if conditioning is done right after first contact with human food.
Black bear encounters happen every summer in Alaska, and a new study suggests rubber bullets are the best way to send the bruins packing.
An article in this month's issue of The Journal of Wildlife Management based on a four-year study in California's Sequoia National Park says shooting black bears with rubber slugs from a 12-gauge shotgun is most effective -- better than pepper spray, chasing them off or hitting them with rocks. Researchers detailed 1,050 instances of so-called aversive conditioning on more than 150 bears, some of which had become accustomed to human food
The Bear Aware Program Delivery Specialist, Betty Offin, and Joanne Siderius, the program’s provincial supervisor, gave a presentation to city council on Dec. 18, detailing the program’s successes in 2009.
The provincial program aims to reduce human-bear conflicts.
In 2009, of the 10,303 black bear reports in B.C., 88 were made in the Castlegar area.
Offin said the numbers have been in sharp decline.
Sylvia Dolson, an unabashed bear lover, likes to talk about statistics that don't relate to annual bear deaths in Whistler. She's got plenty of reasons to smile this year, because the only significant numbers relating to the 2009 bear season are all positive if you're a bear lover.
To wit:
* The number of calls to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service's human-bear conflict line was around 400, about half of what it was last year, and Conservation Officer Chris Doyle recently said he'd confident that the drop is an accurate reflection of the amount of activity taking place, not an indication that people were hesitant to call, as has been the case with some in the past;
Keynotes address on polar bear-human conflict presented at 3rd International Bear-People Conflicts Workshop, Canmore, Alberta, Canada, November, 2009.
Diversionary feeding of black bears (Ursus americanus) around campgrounds and residential areas has received little study because of concerns it might create nuisance bears and jeopardize public safety. To evaluate those concerns and assess its effectiveness in mitigating human-bear conflict, we studied diversionary feeding at a U. S. Forest Service campground/residential complex that had been a perennial focus of human-bear conflict.
For decades, state wildlife officials have been trapping and relocating so-called "nuisance bears" that get too close to humans. But a new University of Florida study shows the policy may merit a second look.
The following information was developed based on the experience of the author in raising and releasing American black bears in Idaho between 1972 and the present, from information derived from the scientific literature and from the observations and experience of many bear rehabilitators who responded in 2005 to a survey of bear rehabilitation centers around the world. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) funded the survey. It was sent electronically to 40 individuals with experience raising and/or releasing orphan bear cubs. They were asked to identify critical components of the rehabilitation process associated with successful releases. Twenty-three individuals representing seven countries responded to the survey, providing information on the methods they used to raise, release and monitor the survival of six species of bears. Specific topics addressed in the survey included the physical characteristics of the rehabilitation facility, handling and care of the cubs, funding sources and release and monitoring protocols. A short follow-up survey was sent to selected individuals to gather additional information about the fates of released bears.
Hundreds of black bears are killed every year in British Columbia as nuisance animals, and increasingly the public is asking for non-lethal methods from wildlife managers, especially near resort communities and protected areas. As a resort community and host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Whistler is under increased pressure from residents, visitors and the general public to reduce the number of bears killed annually due to conflicts with people. The Resort Municipality of Whistler has adopted a number of policies including changes to by-laws and garbage management, in an effort to reduce human-bear conflicts, under the provincial Bear Smart program. The Ministry of Environment sponsored research into non-lethal bear management at Whistler, for broad applicability across the province under the direction of the Whistler Black Bear Working Group.
To develop a proactive program for reducing human-bear conflicts in communities that emphasizes educating the public about bear ecology, eliminating food attractants for bears, providing enforcement options and non-lethal methods for resolving conflicts.
Hundreds of black bears are killed every year in British Columbia as nuisance animals, and increasingly the public is asking for effective non-lethal bear management from wildlife officials. As a resort community and co-host city of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the Resort Municipality of Whistler is under increased pressure from residents and visitors to reduce the number of bears killed annually due to conflict with people. Whistler has adopted changes to specific bylaws and garbage management and created a Bear Management Plan in an effort to reduce human-bear conflicts. These progressive steps have been taken through the guidance of the provincial BearSmart Community Program. As part of this process, in 2005 the Bear Aversion Research Team, with the Conservation Officer Service (COS), radio-collared 13 animals in conflict or suspected to be in conflict to gauge the effectiveness of aversive conditioning, increase the wariness of bears in human developments, and determine how bears respond to various non-lethal management tools.
People are increasingly moving into black bear (Ursus americanus) habitat, seeing more bears, and often feeding them intentionally or unintentionally. There are many untested beliefs about the effects this supplemental feeding has on bear behavior, food preferences, natural foraging activities, relations with humans, and longevity. This study compares bears receiving supplemental food with those in a nearby study area where bears were not supplementally fed (Rogers 1987;Rogers, unpublished data).
The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) is responsible for overseeing the use of animals in research, teaching and testing. Participation in the CCAC program is mandatory for academic institutions. Failure to adhere to CCAC guidelines and policies may lead to suspension of funding for research programs and/or institutions (CCAC, Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 1, 2nd ed., 1993; CIHR, NSERC & SSHRC, Memorandum of Understanding on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards, Schedule 3: Ethical Review of Research Involving Animals, 2000). Although the care and use of wildlife is regulated through provincial, territorial and federal legislation, some agencies responsible for wildlife have adopted animal care guidelines, including those of the CCAC, and have established internal committees that oversee the care and use of wildlife for research, management and operational procedures. Many of these agencies are keenly interested in and/or are participating in the CCAC program in order to provide public accountability for their work.
In spite of the frustrations and obstacles-personal, political, and bureaucratic-we remain optimistic about the future of wildlife contraception. It may be that we are simply optimistic people, but our optimism draws support from our experience. One of us (JFK) has been working on wildlife fertility control for almost thirty years and the other (ATR), for just under a decade; we have seen progress.
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