Models for Predicting Occupied Black Bear Habitat in Coastal North Carolina
Black bears (Ursus americanus) are restricted to approximately 10% of their historical range in the Southeast. While the southern Appalachian mountains contain a relatively contiguous black bear population, southeastern coastal plain populations are fragmented across several states. Some bear populations in southeastern coastal areas are declining or threatened, yet occupied bear habitat in coastal North […]
An Integrated Satellite Technique to Evaluate Grizzly Bear Habitat Use
I present a method that combines 2 previously described remote-sensing techniques: Landsat-derived vegetation types (Craighead et al. 1986, 1988) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Tiros satellite-derived locations of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis). This research was completed on a 5,931-km^2 study area north of the Squirrel River, a tributary of the Kobuk River, […]
A Female Black Bear Denning Habitat Model Using a Geographic Information System
We used the Mahalanobis distance statistic and a raster geographic information system (GIS) to model potential black bear (Ursus americanus) denning habitat in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. The Mahalanobis distance statistic was used to represent the standard squared distance between sample variates in the GIS database (forest cover type, elevation, slope, aspect, distance to […]
Harvest History of Brown Bears in the Oshima Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan
I investigated the history of the brown bear (Ursus arctos yesoensis) harvest in the Oshima Peninsula, Hokkaido, by analyzing hunting statistics and interviewing hunters. The mean annual harvest between 1909-38 and 1963-93 was 38.8 bears (SD = 21.3) and 76.0 (SD = 29.8) bears, respectively. During 1966-87, when spring prophylactic hunting was allowed, 58% of […]
Traffic Kills of Brown Bears in Gorski Kotar, Croatia
At least 73 European brown bears (Ursus arctos) have been killed by vehicles in the forest region (1500 km2) of Gorski kotar, Croatia, from 1963 to 1994. Fifty-one (70%) were killed by trains along the Zagreb-Rijeka railway and 22 (30%) were killed by motor vehicles along roadways in Gorski kotar. Several parameters were measured at […]
Trade in Brown Bear Gall Bladders in Russia
Trade in gall bladders of brown bears (Ursus arctos) has been practiced in Russia for at least a century. Trade increased dramatically starting in 1991 as a consequence of opening state borders, weakening state control, and increasing economic needs of local people. From 1991-94 bile was traded throughout Russia, most intensively in the far east […]
A Summary of Bear Management in Glacier National Park, Montana, 1960-1994
Bear management in Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana, has evolved from 1960 to 1994. Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and black bears (U. americanus) have become more highly valued in both a social and an ecological context. Management has shifted from focusing on removing problem animals to preventing problem bear behavior by modifying human behavior. Reducing […]
Grizzly Bear Recovery Efforts in the Cabinet/Yaak Ecosystem
Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) conservation in the Cabinet/Yaak grizzly bear ecosystem (CYE) is an example of intensive efforts with a small population of approximately 30 individuals. The ecosystem is located in northwest Montana and northern Idaho and encompasses more than 6,800 km2. The Yaak area adjoins bear habitat in Canada and is connected to […]
Resilience of a Minnesota Black Bear Population to Heavy Hunting: Self-Sustaining Population or Population Sink?
We studied a heavily-hunted population of black bears (Ursus americanus) on the periphery of the bear range in east-central Minnesota in 1991 and 1992. This was one of the few areas in Minnesota where hunting pressure was not controlled by a quota on the number of hunting licenses. We hypothesized that the area supported high […]
Changes in Mortality of Yellowstone’s Grizzly Bears
Records of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) deaths are currently used by managers to indicate trends in actual grizzly bear mortality and to judge the effectiveness of management. Two assumptions underlie these current uses: first, that recorded mortality is an unbiased indicator of actual mortality, and second, that changes in mortality after implementation of management strategies […]