Grizzly bears are inactive for 5-6 months every winter. During this time, their heart rate slows from 84 beats per minute to around 19. If this happened in a human heart it could lead to congestive heart failure, but a bear’s heart goes through a complex series of changes that prevent complications. Studying how a bear’s heart changes can be helpful in understanding human heart disease. Read more at U.S. News Science
Grizzly/Brown Bears
Reducing conflict on public lands
While on a short trip to Idaho I came across this great article on grazing and endangered species and so I’ve written a brief synopsis of the article for those that may be interested.
In the Northern Rockies region the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has been compensating ranchers who give up their grazing rights on federal lands. “It’s a win-win for the ranchers and for the Grizzly Bears and Wolves and other wildlife” says one U.S. official.
Some ranchers have stopped using part of their grazing allotments and an innovative NWF program compensates the rancher for giving up the grazing rights which the public agency in charge then permanently retires. One rancher, who had an allotment on the Gallatin National Forest, recently took home a check for $50,000; the bison, grizzlies, and wolves got the land and both parties left the table satisfied with the end result. To date this program has taken cattle and sheep off more than 600,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
The program has won cautious acceptance from livestock groups. Errol Rice, executive vice president of the Montana Stock-Growers Association says that “If a rancher feels it is in his best interests to participate, we support that decision”.
The NWF program is not new and models a similar plan started by bighorn sheep hunters in the 1980’s. When bighorn numbers had dropped from 2 million to around 15,000 the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep began to buy up and retire grazing permits in bighorn habitat areas; they were the pioneers.
There are many benefits to this program: financial compensation to the ranchers, separates sheep and cattle from wolves and grizzlies diffuses controversy, and reduces the need to kill or remove animals preying on cattle and sheep. The innovative program has even reached out to private landowners and brokered a deal on National Wildlife Refuge land. There is still work to be done and new twists and angles to be explored but the success of the program is evident in its accomplishments.
Find out more about this NWF program and read the full story
CDA Press: Selkirk Mountains grizzly population as high as 72
Selkirk Mountains grizzly population as high as 72
Posted: Thursday, November 4, 2010 12:00 am | Updated: 9:52 am, Mon Nov 8, 2010.
By LAURA ROADY
There are between 50 and 72 grizzly bears inhabiting the Selkirk Mountains of Idaho and British Columbia, according to a recent study.
“Sixty-five to 70 bears has been my estimate,” said Wayne Wakkinen, Idaho Fish and Game biologist, who presented the information at the September KVRI meeting. “We were pretty good with our guess.”
Results indicate that grizzly bear density ranges from 2.5 to 3.6 bears per 100 square miles, with the Selkirks covering approximately 2,000 square miles.
Density results are similar to grizzly bear studies in the Canadian Selkirks, with densities of 16.5 bears per 1,000 square kilometers in Canada and 14.1 bears per 1,000 square kilometers in the U.S.
“Four of the bears in our sampling were also sampled in British Columbia,” said Wakkinen. Individual bears could be identified because both studies relied on DNA from hair samples to count the bears.
The study provides a size estimate of the population, but Wakkinen warned it doesn’t say anything about the trend. While the DNA does indicate if the bear is male or female, it doesn’t indicate whether it is of reproductive age.
Of the 15 grizzly bears captured in the study area, nine were females and six were males. With the results extrapolated to the entire Selkirk Range, the estimated population is 50 to 72 grizzly bears.
Grizzly bears in the Selkirk Mountains have a distinct DNA fingerprint that allows researchers to distinguish them from grizzlies in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem and the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem.
“These are resident bears,” Wakkinen said. “There is evidence that the Selkirk species is expanding… I think with the amount of movement between the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem, the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem and the Selkirks, that we are not in a big rush to be concerned about genetics … I think it is getting better.”
To further understand the grizzly bear population in the Selkirks, the next project focuses on habitat-quality monitoring. “If we can rate habitat… then we can say that the density (of the grizzly bears) is higher or lower in certain habitat areas,” Wakkinen said.
Remote Camera Captures Bears In Selkirks
This remote camera captured these images of bears within the Selkirk Ecosystem. Numerous cameras were installed as one method of monitoring bears within this ecosystem. Both grizzly and bear bears were detected. Photos courtesy of Idaho Department of Fish and Game.