Bear Specialist Group

The Bear Specialist Group (BSG) is one of more than 140 Specialist Groups established by the Species Survival Commission (SSC), within the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The goal of the BSG is to promote the conservation of bears and their natural habitats across their distribution worldwide. The BSG and IBA are closely affiliated. Members of the Bear Specialist Group are appointed by the BSG co-chairs and are provided membership benefits of the IBA.

Dave is a Wildlife Research Scientist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Since 1983, as bear project leader for the MDNR, he has conducted population and ecological studies of American black bears across their geographic range in Minnesota, with direct application in management of the state’s bear population. As an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, he has advised graduate students on studies of most of the other bear species of the world, aimed at improved conservation. Previously he studied black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains for his M.S. degree (University of Tennessee) and sea otters in Alaska for his PhD (University of Minnesota). His current interests are in monitoring trends of bear populations, discerning factors limiting population growth, and understanding ecological adaptations of bears, especially in human-modified environments or at the edge of their geographic range.

Mike is an independent Canadian bear research ecologist. He completed his PhD in grizzly bear ecology in 2003. He currently researches and implements conservation solutions for small threatened brown bear populations that span the Canada-US border from southern British Columbia. The Trans-border Grizzly Bear Project is an international cooperative effort that uses DNA survey methods and GPS telemetry to identify broad and fine scale population fragmentation, assess and monitor population status, identify core and linkage habitat, and understand habitat use, food modeling, and security through GIS-based habitat modeling of GPS telemetry and DNA survey data. His work also includes efforts to reduce bear-human conflicts. Mike is interested in translating sound scientific research on threatened bear populations into workable conservation solutions. Beyond Canada, he has worked in international bear projects in Ecuador, Italy, and Mongolia.

European Brown Bear Expert Team Co-chairs

Djuro graduated in veterinary medicine in Zagreb, Croatia in 1975, then specialized in ecology (master’s degree) and wildlife parasitology (PhD, 1979). In 1979-80 he was on a Fulbright grant at the Wild Animal Disease Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. Since 1981 he has been conducting a brown bear study in Croatia, which in 1996 expanded into a study of all large carnivores in Croatia (bear, wolf and lynx). Other projects he has led included: National Geographic Society, International Bear Association, Euronatur, Bernd Thies Foundation, U.S. – Croatian science technology program, ALIS, Alertis, LIFE Wolf, LIFE COEX, GEF KEC, INTEREG DinaRis. Methods employed in these projects included radio-telemetry and genetics. Professionally, Djuro is involved with: Croatian Ecological Society, Croatian Biological Society, IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group and Wolf Specialist Group, IBA (past Council member and Vice-president), Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe, Wildlife Disease Association. He is currently professor of Biology in the Department of Biology at the Veterinary Faculty in Zagreb, where he teaches Zoology and Ecology.

Jon is originally from Montana, USA, where he received his university education and worked as a wildlife management biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks for 10 years. In this job, he worked on management issues concerning both American black and grizzly bears. He has been the leader of the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project since 1991. In addition, he has contributed expertise to managers, researchers and governments on bear management and research in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Republic of Georgia, Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and Sri Lanka, and his students have worked on bear projects in Bolivia and Indonesia. The BSG has been important for the successful management and conservation of North American bear populations. He is strongly committed to science-based conservation and management of bears worldwide and has served organizations such as the International Association for Bear Research and Management as an active Council member and Vice-President for Eurasia.

Asian Brown Bear Expert Team Co-Chairs

Bruce is Wildlife Research Ecologist for the British Columbia Ministry of Forests. For over 30 years, his work has focused on integrating the ecological requirements of grizzly bears and endangered mountain caribou with human developments. In doing so, he has conducted ecological studies of grizzly bears in several parts of the province and mountain caribou across most of their distribution. Bruce’s work has led him directly into the middle of the complex interface between people using the land and the conservation of two challenging species. Due to his knowledge of bears and caribou (plus the plants and animals that affect them), he has been involved with several, multi-stakeholder landuse planning processes that covered large portions of the Province. Bruce was previously president of the International Association for Bear Research and Management and through this role became linked to many bear conservation issues world-wide. His interests remain the same – how to maintain challenging species in spite of expanding human demands on the land.

Stefan has worked for conservation in Central Asia, the Caucasus and adjacent countries since 1993. He is familiar with flora, fauna, ecosystems and institutional and legal frameworks in this region. His work focuses on the involvement of local people in the conservation of wildlife and its habitats. Stefan has participated in the update of the IUCN Red List assessment of brown bear. He is dedicated to strengthen the involvement in the work of the BSG of experts from the brown bear range states in the Caucasus and in Asia.

Mike is an independent Canadian bear research ecologist. He completed his PhD in grizzly bear ecology in 2003. He currently researches and implements conservation solutions for small threatened brown bear populations that span the Canada-US border from southern British Columbia. The Trans-border Grizzly Bear Project is an international cooperative effort that uses DNA survey methods and GPS telemetry to identify broad and fine scale population fragmentation, assess and monitor population status, identify core and linkage habitat, and understand habitat use, food modeling, and security through GIS-based habitat modeling of GPS telemetry and DNA survey data. His work also includes efforts to reduce bear-human conflicts. Mike is interested in translating sound scientific research on threatened bear populations into workable conservation solutions. Beyond Canada, he has worked in international bear projects in Ecuador, Italy, and Mongolia.

Asiatic Black Bear Expert Team Co-chairs

Originally from the UK, Matt has been living in Southeast Asia since 2001. He has been working with wild animals for over 25 years, initially in zoos and wildlife parks but for the past 15 years his work has been focused on combatting the illegal wildlife trade. As Chief Executive of Free the Bears, he is responsible for overseeing projects and partnerships in six countries throughout Asia, developing world-class bear sanctuaries, training local teams to provide optimal care and promoting environmental awareness in some of the world’s least developed countries. Matt believes that long-term conservation of wildlife in Southeast Asia will only be achieved through a combination of strengthened law enforcement and improved environmental awareness. To this end his work is increasingly focused on developing capacity for local researchers to fill gaps in our understanding of wild bears, support and training for government-led law enforcement teams, and fostering public support for conservation initiatives through innovative education programmes.

Mei-Hsiu completed her PhD in ecology of locally endangered Asiatic black bears in Taiwan at University of Minnesota, USA in 2003. Since then, she has been teaching at the Institute of Wildlife Conservation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and has been dedicated to improve the conservation status of bears in Asia through her research on bear ecology and population monitoring, and to inform the society about conservation issues through numerous outreach and education programs. Her work is also focused on developing capacity for governmental managers to fill gaps in scientific-based management and conservation of bears. She established the Taiwan Black Conservation Association, the only NGO dedicated to save an endangered Asiatic bear population, for fostering public understanding and support for conservation initiatives. She has served organizations such as the International Association for Bear Research and Management as a Council member and Vice-President for Eurasia.

Sun Bear Expert Team Co-chairs

Gabriella is a conservation biologist who has mainly been working in Indonesia for the last 15 years. Her doctoral research focused on the ecology and conservation of sun bears in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Since 1997 Gabriella has been involved with the management and establishment of protected areas in East Kalimantan, North Sumatra, and Aceh. Recently she has assisted with the development of an environmental education centre in East Kalimantan, with a focus on sun bear conservation. Besides forest conservation and sun bears, she is interested in wildlife survey and monitoring techniques, wildlife trade, human-wildlife conflict, biodiversity assessments and monitoring, training/capacity building of local conservation NGOs and students.

Brian is Regional Director of Free the Bears, overseeing programme activities in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Brian has 15 years’ experience working on wildlife conservation in Southeast Asia, starting with a bear release project in Northern Laos. With a strong belief in the need for evidence-based conservation, Brian has spent much of the past ten years implementing research projects designed to improve understanding of Asiatic black bears and sun bears in the region. Currently, for his PhD, Brian is evaluating population monitoring techniques as a key component of adaptive conservation strategies. Working closely with the Bear Specialist Group, he conducted the first nationwide surveys of bears in Vietnam and played a lead role in developing the Sun Bear Conservation Action Plan – the first range-wide action plan for a terrestrial bear species, integrating in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts. Brian has a keen interest in the role that ex-situ research can play in improving animal welfare and species conservation, and is actively involved in facilitating student research at Free the Bears sanctuaries. To help combat the major threat posed by illegal trade, Brian coordinates pioneering social science research designed to more effectively change behaviours in order to reduce demand for bear bile and secure a sustainable future for bears in Southeast Asia.

Sloth Bear Expert Team Co-chairs

Nishith is currently positioned as an associate professor of Environmental Science in Gujarat, India. For the past 18 years he has been working mainly on large mammal ecology and biodiversity monitoring in Gujarat. He did his doctorate on the ecology and behavior of Asiatic lions. Since 2006 he has been doing research on sloth bears, investigating distribution, population monitoring, and human-bear conflicts in Gujarat mainly, now extended to other state and country including Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Bhutan. Nishith has developed a revised map of Sloth bear distribution in world for IUCN and also authored the Bear conservation action plan for Gujarat. In addition to sloth bear research, he has conducted studies focused on wetland monitoring and monitoring of small mammal populations in Gujarat and supervising work on pesticide contamination in wetlands. Nishith is working toward collaborative capacity building programmes for wildlife conservation at his university. He has coordinated the recent sloth bear population estimation in Gujarat state with Gujarat forest department. Nishith aspires to elevate and direct the young researchers towards the conservation of wildlife and habitat.

Thomas is a conservation biologist with Wildlife SOS. He has studied sloth bears for over 15 years. His research has focused on sloth bear attacks, resting and maternal denning, relocation of problem bears, intraspecies and interspecies behaviors, threats and distribution in Northeast India and Bhutan. Thomas also researches the ecology ad conservation of other threatened species in India, particularly Asian elephants, Indian star tortoises and leopards. Human-wildlife conflicts are a major issue in India for the majority of species that Thomas studies and therefore finding ways to mitigate these conflicts is a focus of his.

Ron serves San Diego Zoo Global as the Brown Endowed Director of Applied Animal Ecology and is the General Scientific Director of Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park in the Peruvian Amazon. As head of the Zoo’s giant panda program, he supervises a number of research projects with giant pandas ranging from conservation breeding to population ecology. Since 1995 his research with pandas has emphasized the use of behavioral and ecological knowledge to solve conservation problems through collaboration with a variety of other research teams predominantly in China. As director of a large team of conservation biologists based at the Zoo, he also works on a number of other species and conservation problems, with a focus on conservation breeding, translocation biology, and population monitoring and adaptive management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from the University of California at Davis. His current research interests with pandas address reintroduction biology, limiting ecological resources, emerging anthropogenic threats, and behavioral ecology.

Dajun is a wildlife biologist with School of Life Sciences, Peking University, based in Beijing, China. His research is focusing on the wildlife ecology in western China, mainly about population and habitat management of endangered species being impacted by humans. He started his wildlife research career studying wild giant pandas in 1993, and obtained his Ph.D in 2003 on wild giant panda movement, activities and homerange. He has since expanded the research field from observation of individuals to broader-scale investigation of habitat fragmentation, and then to the biodiversity in the mountains of western China. He works with students of his research group in Peking University on multi-species systems, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle. He has also worked on three other bear species: Asiatic black bear, brown bear and sun bear.

Andean Bear Expert Team Co-Chairs

Ximena is a conservation fellow at Chester Zoo UK, and research associate at WildCRU, University of Oxford. Based in Bolivia, Xime has been actively involved in the study of the ecology and conservation of Andean bears in her country. She obtained an M.S. in Geographic Information Systems at the University of Leicester, UK, and later joined the Evolutionary and Ecology group at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where she obtained her Ph.D. Currently, she is principal researcher in a joint project of Chester Zoo and WildCRU which aims to assess human-bear conflict occurring in the Inter-Andean dry forests of Tarija, Bolivia, and to estimate bear’s population size.

Russ serves San Diego Zoo Global as a scientist in Applied Animal Ecology, conducting research for the conservation of Andean bears, primarily in Peru. He tries to integrate ecological and behavioral theory into conservation research and practice. He’s interested in habitat use, dispersal, gene flow, and mating systems, and how these processes are influenced by animal kinship and experience. Russ studied prairie raptors for his M.S. at Montana State University, spotted hyenas for his Ph.D. at Michigan State University, and savannah baboons during a postdoctoral appointment at Duke University. He has advised and mentored students working on Andean bears, American black bears, and bighorn sheep, and is an adjunct professor at San Diego State University. He strives to build capacity and engage local participants to achieve long-term impacts on research and conservation.

Human-Bear Conflicts Expert Team Co-chairs

Lana has conducted research on black and grizzly bears in a number of provinces/territories throughout Canada since 1993. Her doctoral research examined the effects of timber harvesting on the demography and habitat selection of grizzly bears. Her research interests focus on the interaction of humans and bears, particularly as they relate to resource extraction industries and urban expansion. Her report, Reducing human-bear conflicts: solutions through better management of non-natural foods (Ciarniello 1997) pioneered the BC Bear Smart program. Lana believes in science-based management of bears. She uses temporal and spatial modeling to seek to explain urban encroachment into bear habitat, natural food shortages, and human-bear conflicts in relation to grizzly and black bear biological requirements and use of urban landscapes by wild bears. Lana is the sole proprietor of Aklak Wildlife Consulting based in Campbell River, BC.

John has been involved in bear research and management since 1972. He completed his Ph.D. (Population characteristics, denning, and growth patterns of black bears in Idaho) at the University of Montana in 1980. He is a past president of the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA) and has also served that organization as a Council member, associate editor, and newsletter editor.

John worked for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for over 29 years, including 12 years conducting research on black bears. During his years in the field as a research biologist, John designed and conducted research on black bear ecology in six geographic areas of Idaho and was responsible for collecting information on their population dynamics, food habits, reproductive biology, denning ecology, movements, habitat use, and mortality factors. John has published numerous scientific papers on bear ecology and bear rehabilitation methods, and co-authored, with Jeff Rohlman, a book entitled A Shadow in the Forest – Idaho’s Black Bear that was published by the University of Idaho Press in 1994. He also co-authored the Cougar Management Guidelines published in 2005.

John has completed a series of white papers and peer-reviewed publications on rehabilitation and release guidelines for orphan bear cubs, a Conservation Assessment on Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in US forest Service Region 2, and on Global Human-Bear Conflicts. He continues to work as a consultant on efforts to release orphan bears and other species back to the wild and on human-bear conflict issues. In May 2007 he co-chaired an international workshop in Russia for IFAW on rehabilitation and release of orphan bear cubs. John currently serves the IUCN Bear Specialist Group as a Co-Chair of the Human-Bear Conflict Expert Team.

Captive Bears Expert Team Co-chairs

Lydia is curator for ursids and felids at Cologne zoo and supervises projects on applied ethology and behavioural ecology. The research projects focus on the effects of environmental and social factors on resource use and activity patterns of captive herbivores and carnivores. The projects aim to assess the quality of the keeping conditions, to reveal problems which might indicate an overcharge of the adaptation potential, and test solutions to overcome these problems. Results on bears were implemented into the husbandry guidelines for ursids which were published during her tenure as co-chair of the Bear Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) of the European Zoo and Aquarium Association. The standards set by the guidelines served as a basis for regional collection planning for ursids and assessment of carrying capacity. Within the frame of the European Bear TAG she is also involved in ex situ conservation programmes for ursids by co-ordinating the European Endangered Species Breeding Program (EEP) of the spectacled bear and keeps the studbook for sun bears in Europe. Lydia finished her diploma in 1977 and obtained her doctoral degree in 1984 from the Albertus-Magnus University in Cologne, where she gives lectures and courses on zoo biology and applied ethology.

Nicola (Nic) is the Bear & Vet Team Director, China based at Animals Asia’s bear rescue centre near Chengdu, Sichuan where she has worked for the past 10 years. Nic oversees the team and care for over 200 bears rescued from the bile farming industry. Her role also involves contribution to the wider operations of working for this welfare NGO including strategy planning, education and awareness. Nic’s work with bears spans 20 years, first as a zoo keeper with North American black bears in addition to Asiatic black bears, Eurasian brown bears and to a lesser extent sun bears. Nic has an MSc in Wildlife Biology & Conservation and she has worked on various international wildlife conservation projects. Nic’s work with bears has seen her participating and presenting at IBA conferences, Advancing Bear Care conferences & workshops and other captive animal management workshops during her career.

Asian Bear Monitoring Expert Team

I am an applied population ecologist and an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Mississippi State University. My research interests can be broadly described as the intersection of spatial ecology, population processes, and community dynamics, with a strong focus on monitoring of cryptic species. I use a variety of sampling and quantitative methods to inform future management and conservation actions. Generally, I study carnivore populations and communities and have an applied interest in managing human-wildlife interactions – connecting conservation to coexistence. I have American black bear research projects and collaborations in Mississippi, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, and Maine, and have worked previously on Andean bears in Ecuador. I am also a member of the IUCN SCC Pangolin Specialist Group and serve as an advisor on monitoring strategies for NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy and Save Pangolins, and US agencies including the US Forest Service, Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks, and the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Furbearer Working Group.

North American Bear Expert Team

Rich Beausoleil has been conducting bear research since 1997 and has worked in Louisiana, Tennessee, New Mexico and in Washington, where he’s been the statewide Bear and Cougar Specialist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2002. His primary duties are to monitor trends in bear and cougar populations statewide. He also teaches annual immobilization and capture techniques for these species to all officers and biologists in the agency.  In addition to being Co-Chair of IUCN BSG NABET, he helped establish and was the first Chair of the Management Committee for the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), is a member of the IUCN BSG Human-Bear Conflicts Expert Team.  He has published research in professional journals and authored several agency manuals on responding to human-carnivore conflicts and his efforts help contribute to the state of Washington passing an anti-feeding regulation.  He also served as a scientific advisor to author Linda Masterson on her 2016 book “Living with Bears”.  Rich co-founded the Karelian Bear Dog (KBD) Program in Washington in 2003 and uses KBD’s to help resolve conflict between carnivores and people non-lethally.  He holds 2 degrees in wildlife biology, a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a M.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Chris was the Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for USFWS for 35 years until retiring in 2016. He coordinated grizzly recovery actions in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington. He became aware of the importance of balancing the needs of bears with the needs of the people who live, work, and recreate in bear habitat.  He has chaired the 8 interagency Boards of Review on human fatalities due to grizzly bear attacks in the lower 48 states. These Boards of Review produce detailed reports on how and why each fatality occurred, and in four cases produced detailed recommendations on ways to minimize such human fatalities in the future.  He has advised many graduate students on bear research in the US and several foreign countries.  Chris is currently the co-chair with Rich Beausoleil of the North American Bears Expert Team for the Bear Specialist Group of IUCN, and vice president of the Montana Wildlife Federation.