Population management for black bears (Ursus americanus), brown-grizzly bears (U. arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus) in North America is reviewed. In different areas bear populations are managed to achieve goals of population control, conservation, or sustained yield. Most North American bears are managed for sustained yields and this topic is emphasized. The consequence of error in population management is high as bears reproduce slowly and reduced populations will require many years to recover. Simulation results where reproductive rates were generous, natural mortality rates were low, and harvests were 75% of maximum sustainable rates indicated that populations reduced by half will require >40 years to recover for brown (grizzly) bears and >17 years for black bears. Under optimal conditions for reproduction, natural mortality, and with males twice as vulnerable as females, maximal sustainable hunting mortality was estimated as 5.7% of total population for grizzly bears and 14.2% for black bears. In recent decades, all 3 species have obtained the status of game animals in most jurisdictions and management for control objectives is increasingly uncommon. Management for conservation requires primary emphasis on habitat protection and on minimizing mortalities from any source. Managers of hunted bear populations use information from hunters, from sex and age composition of killed bears, from research programs, and from computer simulation studies. Non-critical uses of data from any of these sources may lead to management error. Data on age-at-harvest is especially prone to misinterpretation. Techniques used to limit harvests by managers of hunted bear populations are reviewed. The primary constraints facing bear population management derive from inadequate habitat protection, political pressures, technological limitations of available population management techniques, and inadequate financial support for management.
- Volume 8
- Issue
- Pages 357-373
- Publication Date 1 January 1990
- DOI 10.2307/3872940
- File Size 708.55 KB
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