Presented at 3rd International Bear-People Conflicts Workshop, Canmore, Alberta, Canada, November, 2009.
Understanding polar bear nature and behavior:
Why behavioral research is important?
Main goals
Understand processes that govern:
- population dynamics,
- social life,
- encounters with other species, including humans.
POLAR BEAR RESEARCH ON WRANGEL ISLAND
- key polar bear refuge and model study territory
Principal investigator - Nikita Ovsyanikov
Co-observer - Irina Menyushina
Leading organizations:
Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve
Institute of Problems of Ecology and Evolution, RAS
Research objectives:
- Monitoring local polar bear sub-population in autumn seasons
Objectives:
- Number and distribution
- Demographic composition
- Physical condition
2. Research on polar bear population and behavioral ecology in Wrangel Island region
Objectives:
- Dynamics in distribution and demographic structure of polar bears stranded on Wrangel Island during ice free seasons;
- bear on-shore movement patterns, terrestrial habitat use;
- foraging activity and hunting behavior;
- social behavior;
- behavior during encounters with humans;
- reaction to disturbance - human presence and activity, AVTs and other transportation devices, response to deterrent tools;
- Dynamics of bear physical condition and mortality.
LOGISTICS
Number of polar bears recorded on Wrangel island
|
year |
max number of bears in congregation at Cape Blossom at a time |
overall count on the island |
overall estimated number of bears on the island |
sea ice conditions |
|
2004 |
9 |
261 |
300 |
Ice Free |
|
2005 |
18 |
104 |
200 |
Ice Free |
|
2006 |
2 |
99 |
150 |
Ice Free |
|
2007 |
11 |
391 |
600 |
Ice Free - Extreme |
|
2008 |
5 |
200 |
300 |
Ice Free - Extreme |
|
2009 |
3 |
165 |
200 |
Ice Free |
The largest observed congregation was up to 160 bears at a time
POLAR BEAR NATURE
- Harsh environment
- Specialized predator
- Generalist
- Nomadic
- Social
- Non-territorial
- High intellect
- Good perception
- Strong ability for learning
- Highly cautious
- Tough and inertial
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
- Socially flexible
- Socially tolerant
- Well developed communication means
- Skillfully manage social distance
- Social orientation is important
- Taught to respect power
- Naive
Encounters with humans are inevitable
Encounters are easily manageable without conflicts when natural features of polar bear social behavior are known and encounter management technique is based on them.
Polar Bear response to encounter with a human is highly predictable
Polar bears are highly sensitive to disturbance
CONFLICT CONDITIONING
1. Habituation:
- attractants
- food conditioning
- familiarization
2. Surprise encounters
3. Mistaken Identification of an object by a bear
4. Fear-based response by a human to encounter with a bear
PRINCIPLES
For polar bear-human safety concept in Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve
1 - Preventing conflicts is always preferable (constant attention and no encounter provocations)
2 - Respect to polar bears, superiority of their rights to live in their country
3 - No harm to polar bears
4 - Human safety is human responsibility
5 - No attractions for polar bears near human dwellings
6 - No familiarizing with humans for polar bears
7 - Instructing and training field workers and visitors
8 - Rules are obligatory for all field workers and visitors
Gun free policy in managing polar bear-human encounters in the reserve
Reasons:
- Not effective as deterrent tool
- Put carrier into inadequate psychological mood
- Risk of injure for a human
- Risk of injure for a bear
- Risk to provoke conflict escalation
- Risk to create a problem bear
Conclusion: Gun is a useless load to carry.
New reality - sea ice shrinking
Consequences - increase of bear-human encounters and conflicts
Does developing tourism in the Arctic introduce additional impacts to polar bears?
Yes, it does!
Kinds of tourism that can impact polar bears
- Land traveling in polar bear country
- Skiing to the North Pole
- Ship based tourism
Ship based tourism - negative aspects:
- Guarding tourists from polar bears is based on rifle use concept
- Expedition Staff and Guards are often not specially trained and qualified to manage landings without impacting polar bears
- Polar bear chasing is practiced by some expedition leaders
- Landings are run in key polar bear coastal habitats
- Disturbance by helicopter and landing operations
What should be done to minimize impacts of tourism?
- Develop restrictive guidelines for the entire Arctic
- Use only non-lethal deterrent tools as polar bear safety measures
- License tour operators on national level
- Training courses for expedition staff
- Education for travelers and tour operators
- Regulation Enforcement
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Sound management of polar bear - human encounter/conflict is human responsibility and should be focused on managing humans
2. To be effective managements should be based on natural behavioral features of the species
3. Management should be environmentally animal friendly
4. Ethic aspect is critically important
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This polar bear research was supported by:
- Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve - 1990-ongoing
- Polar Bears International (Initially - PBA) - 1995-2008
- International Fund for Animal Welfare - 2002, 2008
- World Wide Fund US - 2003
- Private sponsorship (2007- ongoing)
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