OLYMPIA – Investigations by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) detectives into illegal trafficking in bear gall bladders have resulted in hefty fines for two eastern Washington men and a year-long jail sentence for one of them.
William A. Page, 63, a Curlew meat cutter, was sentenced Dec. 18 in Ferry County Superior Court to a year in jail plus $3,000 in fines after being convicted a month earlier of six counts of unlawful trafficking in wildlife.
Page, of 49 Bjork Ranch Rd. in Curlew, also forfeited $1,600 he paid to undercover WDFW officers for the gall bladders.
Mike Cenci, WDFW deputy chief of enforcement, said Page admitted to buying 35 gall bladders in 2007 and 2008, including 17 he purchased from undercover officers during the course of the department’s investigation.
Some people believe bear gall bladders have healing powers, Cenci said. He noted that black market prices for galls can range between $100 to thousands of dollars, depending on whether the sales take place locally or overseas.
“Buying or selling bear gall bladders is a crime in this state, because it creates an increased demand for wildlife and their body parts,” Cenci said. “That can threaten the long-term sustainability of populations that can’t withstand commercialization.”
In a separate case, the Spokane County Superior Court fined the owner of a Spokane food market $1,000 on Dec. 22 for two felony convictions of illegally trafficking in wildlife.
A Spokane jury found Jason Yon, 51, owner of JAX Market on East Mission Street, guilty of purchasing four bear gall bladders from WDFW officers during an undercover investigation in 2008. In addition to the fine, Yon forfeited $800 he paid to buy the gall bladders.
Cenci said WDFW relies heavily on tips from hunters and people in local communities about illegal wildlife-trafficking operations. He asks that people who believe they have witnessed these crimes call WDFW Enforcement at (360) 902-2936.
It seems like more and more we are hearing about and dealing with human-wildlife conflicts which in many cases are more about conflicts between humans than about wildlife. As part of my job with the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP) and my job as a zoo keeper this topic comes up a lot. Dealing with this topic can be touchy so I was very excited to hear about a course that teaches about conflict dynamics and how to address them.
I attended the Conservation and Conflict Experiential Training course taught by staff of the Human Wildlife Conflict Collaboration (HWCC). The course was held September 9-11 2009 in Washington, D.C. Our class had people from the US, Wales, France and Africa. It was a great mix of people with varied backgrounds; grad students, the Humane Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Society, USDA and the National Park Service etc. Having this mix of people really brought in some great ideas and information exchange which added to the wonderful learning experience of the class.
This is not a sit, take notes and listen to the instructors’ course. There are a lot of discussions and role play; the more you participate the more you get out of it. ”The objective of this course is to improve the ability of conservation practitioners to understand conflict dynamics and establish more effective ways to address them. Participants will accomplish this by drawing on tools, processes, and theory developed in the field of conflict resolution that have shown to be applicable to conservation realities. As a result, conservation practitioners will possess a broader set of skills to ensure that conservation solutions are more successful and sustainable.”
We practiced various roles: being a third party neutral, an observer and people involved in a conflict. Playing these different “characters” and being in someone else’s shoes brought a new perspective to the process and gave a glimpse into how the other side may be feeling. At the end of each role play the groups (usually made up of 4 people) would critique the people doing the role play providing constructive criticism and positive feedback. It was a safe environment to practice the new skills we were learning each day and to improve on the ones we already had.
I would recommend this course to anyone that has to deal with human-wildlife conflict; it really does provide tools and guidance to prevent or resolve conflict issues. As someone who has never been good at dealing with human conflict, I left the course feeling like I can go out accomplish my goals and when conflicts arise I can handle them.
Wolves avoid humans, but encounters sometimes occur when humans and wolves use the same habitat. Wolves that approach people, buildings, livestock, or domestic dogs are either habituated to humans, unhealthy, wolf-dog hybrids, or former captive animals. Wolf-dog hybrids can be especially dangerous because they lack the shyness of wild wolves.
Even though wild wolves rarely threaten human safety, they are wild animals that should be respected and never approached.
Report all suspected wolf and wolf track sightings to the Washington Wolf Reporting Hotline at 888-584-9038.
At your home or ranch:
Never let wolves become comfortable around you or your home, or they may lose their fear of people.
Never feed wolves or other wildlife.
Garbage can attract wolves and other wildlife. Keep garbage in a secure location.
Do not leave any food outside, including scraps, pet food, or livestock feed. When possible, feed animals inside.
Keep dogs under supervision. Wolves can be highly territorial toward other canids.
Wolves can be scavengers, so bury dead livestock and pets.
To prevent livestock depredation, consider the following:
At night, use range riders or dogs with cattle and herders or dogs with sheep.
Remove sick or injured livestock.
Delay cattle turnout until after calves are born and weigh at least 200 pounds and after elk calves/deer fawns are born.
Avoid areas near wolf dens and wolf rendezvous sites during spring and summer.
Use permanent or portable fencing, including electric fencing.
When possible, keep livestock well-fenced and closer to human dwellings, wolves avoid these areas.
While camping, hiking, and hunting in wolf country:
Never feed, approach, or encourage wolves to come near, or they may lose their fear of people.
Stay away from fresh wolf kills, dens, and rendezvous sites.
Keep a clean and orderly camp. Cook and store food away from sleeping areas. Suspend food, toiletries, garbage and other loose objects on a rope between trees, or in secured kayak hatches, out of reach of wildlife. Wolves have been reported removing personal and other non-food items from campsites.
Do not bury garbage. If you pack it in – pack it out!
Wash dishes in a container and dispose of grey water.
Near the coast use areas below high tide mark, away from camp, in an area of high tidal exchange for toilets – do not use the upland areas, wolves will feed on human excrement.
Wolves and Dogs:
The gray wolf is the ancestor of domestic dogs. They are actually the same species, Canus lupus. That is why wolves view dogs as competitors or territorial intruders and have attacked and killed them. Owners of dogs need to be aware of the potential risk to their dogs if they are in wolf habitat, especially when guarding or herding livestock, hunting, accompanying hikers, or running at large.
In areas occupied by wolves, homeowners should not allow dogs to roam at large or leave dogs outside overnight unless kept in a sturdy kennel. Dogs should be kept on leash or in visual/auditory range and owners should vocalize frequently, including use of whistles. Dogs should be trained not to chase or approach wildlife and to return on commands. Homeowners should not leave dog food outside and avoid feeding wildlife near their homes.
Hikers should consider leaving their dogs at home when visiting sites with wolves. Hikers with dogs should keep them on leash or closely controlled. Hikers should make noise and equip dogs with bells or other noise-makers to alert wolves to the presence of people. If a wolf is encountered, bring dogs to heel and leash them, and stand between them and the wolf; wolves avoid humans and this often ends the encounter. Don’t try to break up a physical fight between a wolf and a dog.
Hunters who use dogs in areas where wolves are known to exist (either to find game birds or, where allowed, to find other game animals), should avoid releasing dogs in areas with fresh evidence of wolves (tracks, scat, howling, etc.) Stay in close range of hunting dogs, communicating with them by voice or whistle, and use bells or beeper collars on dogs to alert wolves to the presence of people. Hounds used to tree game should be released only on fresh sign to avoid long chases, and when treeing game, reached as soon as possible so they are not unattended for long.
Be alert and aware of the potential risks when recreating or living in wolf country. To prevent problems with wolves and other wildlife, always keep a clean camp or home site to avoid attracting wolves that might scavenge for food, or more likely prey upon other animals that are attracted to both intentional and non-intentional feeding opportunities. (Source: USFWS 2007)
In your community:
Remind your neighbors to never feed wolves and other wildlife.
Promote the reduction of potential wolf food sources in and around your community.
Notify authorities about wolves that seem comfortable around people, seek human food, or frequent human areas. Early intervention can keep a problem from getting worse.
MOSES LAKE, Wash. – Two Grant County men are expected to appear in federal court next week, accused of shooting one of Washington state’s few grizzly bears. The case stretches back to a hunting trip in October 2007, during which investigators say the men shot a full grown male grizzly in Northeastern Washington’s Selkirk Mountains.
Kurtis Cox and Brandon Rodeback are then accused of transporting the dead bear to property near their homes in the Moses Lake area. State and federal wildlife investigators say they were able to find the burial site.
“Officers found a grizzly bear carcass and a grizzly bear hide and head in two separate holes buried on the family farm,” said Deputy Chief Mike Cenci, of Washington Fish & Wildlife Enforcement. Investigators were able to determine from tests that the bear was a valuable research subject.
State and federal wildlife officers say a tip led them to the suspects and a site where they tried to hide the bear. They released this photo of the bear’s hide. “It had an ear tag,” Cenci said. “Biologists had been tracking that animal for 14 years, so we know a lot about its life history.”
Wildlife groups say killing any member of the state’s struggling grizzly bear population is a big setback to hopes the large bears will reestablish a presence in Washington state. “It really increases the chance that this animal is not going to make it, and we cannot afford to lose anymore bears in the Cascades or the Selkirks,” said Paul Bannick, Seattle Director of Conservation Northwest.
Once plentiful in Washington and most of the rest of the Western states, the grizzlies were all but hunted into extinction. Efforts to protect them have helped increase numbers in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The return of the bears to those states has already generated heated concerns from some ranching and hunting groups.
Those same concerns are now being voiced as Washington state prepares for what appears to be the grizzly’s imminent return to this state. Shooting a grizzly in any state is a violation of federal endangered species laws and could lead to six months in jail and heavy fines.
Cox and Rodeback are expected to appear before a federal magistrate in Spokane next week. KING 5 was unable to contact either man today. Court documents indicate the two men explained to investigators they didn’t realize the bear was a protected grizzly, not a common black bear for which Rodeback had a hunting permit.
Bear attacks are very rare though many thousands of people live, work and recreate in bear country. Bears are far more likely to enhance your wilderness experience than spoil it.
Visit our Tips for Coexistence page to learn about preventing human conflicts; remember that it is always good to be prepared for an encounter. You should always carry bear spray while recreating in bear country and know how to use it. Watch this excellent video by our partners at Counter Assault.
https://youtu.be/pc0_GqXKETA
Remember, there is no fool-proof way of dealing with a bear encounter: each bear and encounter is different. Knowing how to interpret their behavior and how to act responsibly is part of the pleasure of sharing our environment with wild bears.
Bear Body Language
Bears may appear tolerant of people and then attack without warning. A bear’s body language can help you determine its mood. A bear may stand on its hind legs or approach to get a better view, but these actions are not necessarily signs of aggression: the bear may not have identified you as a person and may be unable to smell or hear you from a distance. In general, bears show agitation by swaying their heads, huffing, popping their jaws, blowing and snorting, or clacking their teeth. Lowered head and laid-back ears also indicate aggression.
Predatory vs. Defensive Bear Attacks
If you see a bear in the distance, respect the bear’s need for space. Try to make a wide detour or leave the area. If you suddenly surprise a bear at close range, STOP. Don’t crowd the bear – leave it a clear escape route and it will probably exit. Assess the situation: is the bear acting in a calm and curious manner, or is it acting in a predatory or defensive manner?
Defensive Confrontations:
Defensive confrontations are usually the result of a sudden encounter with a bear protecting its space or food cache, and with female bears with young. Defensive confrontations seldom lead to contact. In defensive confrontations, the bear is threatening you because it feels threatened.
If you suddenly surprise a bear, remain calm and do not run.
Speak in a low monotone voice so the bear can identify you as human.
A bear may charge in an attempt to intimidate you – usually stopping well short of contact.
If a bear begins to charge, use Bear Spray as instructed under the Bear Spray section of this brochure.
If Bear Spray does not deter a Defensive Confrontation, drop to the ground and play dead to allow the spray to take effect. Protect your back by keeping your pack on. Lie on your stomach, clasp your hands behind your neck, and use your elbows and toes to avoid being rolled over. If the bear does roll you over, keep rolling until you land back on your stomach.
Remain still and quiet. A defensive bear will stop attacking once it feels the threat has been removed.
Do not move until you are absolutely sure the bear has left the area.
Predatory Confrontations:
Predatory attacks by bears are very rare, but do occur. Any bear that continues to approach, follow, disappear and reappear or displays other stalking behaviors is possibly considering you as prey. Bears that attack you in your tent or confront you aggressively in your campsite or cooking area should also be considered a predatory threat.
If the bear does not respond to aggressive actions such as yelling, throwing rocks and sticks, etc., you should be prepared to physically fight back if it attempts to make contact.
Try to be intimidating: look as large as possible.
If you have bear spray, emit a deterring blast, preferably before the bear is within twenty-five feet. This gives the animal time to divert its advance.
If the bear continue to follow, place your pack or other items down as a distraction.
If a grizzly bear following you, climbing a tree may be an option but it is no guarantee of safety.
To learn more about staying safe and living in grizzly bear country, consider ordering the following videos provided by the Safety in Bear Country Society (SIBCS). SIBCS is made up of a number of world-renowned bear experts who have worked in collaboration with the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA)to create a series of videos about safety in bear country. All three videos can be ordered through Distribution Access, information below.
There are several options if you think you have seen a grizzly bear, but quick reporting is critical – please use whichever option is most convenient. If possible, please contact each of the organizations below.
Call the wolf-bear hotline: 1-888-WOLF-BEAR (US Fish and Wildlife Service, Olympia)
WA or ID Patrol or Ranger Stations (see links below)
Please be as specific as possible in your message about the location and time of the observation.
What exactly did you see (e.g. a single bear, family group, a grizzly bear plant dig, a carcass)?
Let us know if you took photographs or measurements.
What made you think that it was a grizzly bear or grizzly bear field sign?
Remember to give your full name and telephone number.
REVISE TO TALK ABOUT BOTH BEARS – CURRENT INFORMATION
If you spend time in the North Cascades and other rural areas of Washington, the chances of seeing a black bear are quite high. You are much less likely to see a grizzly bear. Watching bears in their natural environment from a safe, respectable distance can be thrilling – they are far more likely to enhance your wilderness experience than spoil it. Knowing how to interpret their behavior and act responsibly is part of the thrill of sharing forests and mountains with wildlife.
The vast majority of bears want to avoid humans. Encounters with aggressive bears are very rare.
Below are simple steps you can take while living, camping, backpacking, and horseback riding in bear country. You can also watch our
The active ingredients in bear spray are capsaicin and related capsaicinoids. There is a significant difference between the amount of capsaicin in bear spray sold for protection from bears, and in the pepper spray sold for protection from human aggressors. Be sure to buy bear spray, not pepper spray, buy a canister that has a spray duration of at least 6 seconds, and follow the directions for use. Consider buying a bear spray holster so the spray is always easily accessible, and consider carrying spray in hand while walking through heavy brush or other areas with poor visibility.
Bear spray is a good last line of defense, but it is not a substitute for vigilance and following appropriate bear avoidance safety techniques. Bear spray is intended to create a wide barrier between you and the bear, so the spray can affect the bear’s eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. Spray when a bear is no less than 25 feet away. Point the canister slightly downwards and spray in 2 to 3 second bursts in the direction of the bear with a slight side-to-side motion. This distributes an expanding cloud of spray that the bear must pass through before it gets close to you. Spray additional bursts if the bear continues toward you. Continue spraying until the bear either breaks off its charge or is going to make contact. Bear spray has been shown to reduce the length and severity of serious physical attacks when used properly. Bear spray should not be used as a preventative measure: never spray your backpack, tent or person with bear spray.
Bears emerging from and returning to their dens have 5 to 7 months to gain enough weight to sustain them through their winter denning. Easily obtainable, high-calories meals like food items in garbage cans, bird feeders, pet food and compost often attract bears and bring them in close proximity to humans. Whether it is a bear’s first visit or a repeat visit to someone’s yard, their presence may lead to conflict. Bears that are fed intentionally or unintentionally by people often lose their fear of humans, may become aggressive, and may cause property damage. Once a bear becomes food-conditioned and habituated, wildlife agencies may be forced to kill it. It is important to remember that ‘a Fed Bear is a Dead Bear’.
Store garbage indoors or in bear-resistant garbage cans.
Do not leave food, scraps, garbage, recycling or pet food accessible to bears.
Haul garbage to a dump site at least twice a week to avoid odors.
If you have a pickup service, put garbage out the morning of pick up– not the night before.
If you’re leaving home several days before pickup, haul your garbage to a dump.
Be particularly aware of very odorous food scraps such as fish and meat bones/scraps – store them in the freezer until garbage day.
Barbecuing
Be alert when barbecuing. If bears are nearby, they may be attracted by the smell.
Keep barbecue grills clean and free from grease. Store inside if possible.
Pets
It is better to keep pets inside at night if possible.
Do not leave pet food, livestock food, or poultry feed outside without electric fencing.
More Helpful Tips
Composts, fruit trees and beehives are powerful bear attractants, as are vegetable and flower gardens – enclose them with electric fencing.
Do not put fish, meat or fruit into your compost. Use lime to reduce odors.
Make sure that bird feeders, bird seed, suet and hummingbird mixes are not accessible to bear.
Try to pick fruit from trees on your property regularly. Rotting fruit left on the ground is a powerful bear attractant.
Avoid the use of outdoor refrigerators and freezers– they will attract bears.
In your community
Promote the use of community bear resistant dumpsters.
Support local businesses and families that take “bear smart” sanitation steps.
Encourage the use of bear alert programs to share information on bear activity among community members.
Strongly discourage the feeding of bears by tourists or other residents.
Reduce the availability of natural bear food sources in and around parks, schools, and green spaces.
Encourage bear safe design and management of trails, campgrounds, and parks.
The following tips are equally important whether camping off-trail, or in multi-site campgrounds close to the road: both should be considered part of bear country and should be afforded the same safety precautions. Bear in mind that neighboring campers and campers that have left prior to your arrival may not be taking the same precautions, so be especially vigilant when utilizing campgrounds.
Camp setup
If camping in National Parks, camp in established campsites and follow park guidelines.
Be aware of your surroundings – look at them from a bear’s perspective. Investigate your site for bear sign before setting up camp and then establish a clean camp free of odors
Avoid camping near bear food sources such as berries. Never camp near an animal carcass, garbage or bear sign such as tracks, scat or tree scratchings.
Avoid camping next to trails or streams, as bears and other wildlife use these as travel routes.
Remember the 100 yard rule: locate your cook area and food cache at least 100 yards downwind from your tent when not in established campgrounds.
Pitch tents in a line or a semicircle facing your cooking areas. You will be more likely to spot a bear that wanders into your camp and the bear will have a clear escape route. Below is an illustration of a bear-safe campsite:
Food storage
Do not forget: when hanging your food and garbage you’ll need 100 feet of strong nylon accessory cord (1/8 inch minimum) and a carabiner to attach bags to cord.
Never leave food items unattended unless it is properly stored. Food items include all edibles (even in sealed packaging), drinks, coolers (even when empty), and pet food (even fishing bait).
DO NOT bring food, drinks, or odorous non-food items into your tent. This includes toothpaste, perfume, deodorant, chocolate, candy and wrappers.
Avoid canned foods with strong odors such as tuna. Wash cans after eating.
All food items should be placed in bear-resistant food storage containers (where available) or stored in your vehicle’s trunk or your truck cab. Bear-resistant containers are constructed of a securable, solid non-pliable material capable of withstanding force from a bear. Visit www.igbconline.org to learn about certified bear-resistant containers.
When you are not able to keep food stored in bear-resistant containers, hang your food. Place food inside several layers of sealed plastic bags and a stuff-sac (‘bear bags’ or waterproof ‘dry-bags’ can be purchased for this use) and hang the bags at least 15 off the ground between two trees that are 20 feet apart. Some campgrounds provide communal bear wires for this purpose.
If two trees are not available, sling your bags at least 15 feet from the ground over the branch of one tree so that the bags hang at least 5 feet out from the tree trunk and hang 5 feet below the branch.
Remember to hang pots, utensils, cosmetics, toiletries and any other odorous items with your food and garbage.
Bear-resistant food containers (BRFCs) can be borrowed from some National Park and Forest Service offices.
Cooking
NEVER cook or eat in your tent – the tent will smell of food and may attract bears. Avoid cooking greasy, odorous foods.
Locate your cook area and hang your food at least 100 yards downwind from your tent.
Remove the clothing you wore while cooking before going to sleep. Store these clothes in your vehicle or with your food and garbage.
Wash all dishes immediately after eating. Dump water at least 100 yards from your campsite.
Garbage disposal/storage
Never leave garbage unattended, unless it is properly stored.
Do not bury your garbage. Garbage should be deposited in bear-resistant garbage cans or stored in your vehicle until it can be dumped.
If you are unable to store garbage in a bear-resistant container, hang garbage in the same way as your food.
Remember: “pack it in, pack it out”. This includes ALL garbage (including biodegradable items such as fruit peels).
Hiking and horse packing
If you spend much time in the rural areas of the western United States, the chances of seeing a black bear are quite reasonable. You are less likely to see a grizzly bear; there are relatively few in the Lower 48 States, found only in northern Washington and Idaho, northwest Montana, and around Yellowstone National Park. Watching bears in their natural environment from a safe, respectable distance can be enjoyable. Positive experiences with wild bears are far more common than negative experiences. Although extremely rare, aggressive encounters between people and bears sometimes occur. Call for any recent reports of bear activity in the area you plan to hike. Bears feel threatened if surprised. If a bear hears you coming, it will usually avoid you. To avoid bears:
Talk or sing songs as you walk – especially in dense brush where visibility is limited, near running water or when the wind is in your face. Your voice will help bears to identify you as human.
Hike in a group and during daylight hours.
Be aware. Learn about and watch for bear sign. Overturned rocks or broken-up, rotten logs can be a sign that a bear has been foraging for grubs or insects. Claw marks on trees, five-toed tracks in the dirt or snow, berries on the ground, plant root diggings or fur on the bark of trees are all signs that a bear has been in the area. If you see fresh bear sign, leave the area immediately.
Stay away from abundant food sources and dead animals – bears may be foraging in the area or protecting a carcass.
Keep dogs on a leash and under control. Dogs may be helpful in detecting bears, but they may also fight with them or lead them back to you.
Avoid wearing scented cosmetics and hair products
Carry bear spray, have it ready and know how to use it! For more information, click on the image below.
Hunting and fishing
The very act of hunting puts hunters at an increased risk of encountering grizzlies; elk bugling, game calls, and cover scents attract not only game, but bears too.
It is illegal to hunt grizzly bears in the lower 48 states, as they are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Learn how to identify the difference between grizzly and black bears. Be absolutely sure of your target. If in doubt, do not shoot.
When hunting in grizzly country, carry bear spray. Keep the spray within reach, and be familiar with the firing mechanism.
Leave detailed plans with someone, and check-in periodically.
Field dress and remove your kill from the field immediately. The longer a carcass remains lying on the ground, hung near hunting camp, or in the back of a truck, the more likely it is to attract a bear.
If you must leave a carcass in the field, hang it so the lowest part of the carcass is at least 10 feet off the ground and 300 feet away from recreation/camping/sleeping sites.
If a grizzly bear is at the kill site, do not attempt to frighten away or haze a grizzly that does not leave a carcass!
If you see no sign of a bear when returning to the site, approach the carcass slowly. Yell repeatedly, and make noise to frighten away any bear you didn’t see!
Learn how to tell black bears and grizzly bears apart, click here to go to Bear Identification section.
The 2009 edition of the Living with Predators Resource Guides is now available. The guides can be downloaded at no cost via the Living with Wildlife Foundation (LWWF) web site at www.lwwf.org.
The guides are a comprehensive set of resources containing information about how to prevent conflicts with predators with an emphasis on bears.
The largest guide, “Techniques and refuse Management options for Residential Areas, Campgrounds and Group-Use Facilities” has been updated to include a number of new bear-resistant products and new information about the updated Bear-Resistant Products Testing Program.
One of the guides, “Predator Behavior Modification Tools for Wildlife Professionals” is not available via the general link on the LWWF web page. We try to restrict distribution of this guide to wildlife professionals. Please email Patti Sowka at patti@lwwf.org if you would like to be able to download this guide.
LWWF has now expanded its portion of the bear-resistant products testing program to include testing with captive black bears at Southwest Wildlife Rehabilitation and Educational Foundation, Inc. located in Scottsdale, Arizona. This non-profit does a wonderful job of helping to educate the public about ways to co-exist with wildlife and they also provide a life-long home to confiscated and non-releasable wild animals. Please visit them at www.southwestwildlife.org .
Please contact Patti Sowka at 406-544-5307 or patti@lwwf.org for more information.
Related to the previous BLOG entry I found the following graphic in the most recent issue of High Country News interesting. This graphic is based on data from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Click on the above image to enlarge.
Of particular interest were the facts that bears weigh more in urban areas, and that their density per square mile is greater. For instance the density of bears in the wild is 3 per 38 square miles, but in urban areas their density was documented as 120 bears per 38 square miles. Also noted is a decrease in denning period from 100-150 days per year to 50-100 days per year in urban areas, which means that bears are out and about searching for food more of the year. Finally, the age that females first reproduce is reduced, and the numbers of cubs per birthing cycle is increased in urban areas. This increase in reproductive rate is a natural outcome of an abundant food supply – most wildlife will increase their reproductive rate when food supplies are good and reduce their reproductive rate during harder times.
This data points out a positive feedback loop that certainly we humans don’t want to promote. The fact that bears can access an abundant and easy food supply in and around residences not only contributes to challenging bear behaviors, but also increases their reproductive rate and densities. All of this is another indicator of the need to educate citizens, businesses, schools and governmental organizations to make bear attractants inaccessible.
Unfortunately, however, it only takes a few people to contribute significantly to the food conditioning of bears, and not infrequently those that contribute most to the problem are least inclined to change their behavior. Even in parts of Canada where Conservation Officers can fine people who leave non-natural foods accessible to wildlife, large numbers of bears are euthanized each year. So there is no easy answer, but certainly continued education about this issue is warranted.
Nan Laney Skagit, Whatcom and Northern Snohomish Coordinator Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP)
Bears are deserting traditional mountain and forest ranges and moving into towns where they scavenge for food. This attraction to ‘fast food’ in urban areas is luring black bears in North America to an early death, scientists have found.
Why? So many young bears are killed in traffic accidents that it is threatening the viability of wild populations.
A 10-year study in the Sierra Nevada Mountains looked at the effects a landscape changed by human activity was having on the black bear (Ursus americanus). Led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) it looked particularly at whether exposure to humans and new food resources in the form of rubbish was affecting bear life history patterns.
Scientists followed 12 female bears in an urban environment and 10 females in wild land habitats from 1997-2006. All 22 bears were sexually immature females who could be followed through their life cycle.
The study, published in the Autumn 2008 issue of the journal Human-Wildlife Conflicts, had to be limited to 10 years because by then all the urban bears had been killed in traffic accidents while six of the bears still living in the wild survived. During the study the team handled a total of 43 female bear cubs and of those 28 (65 per cent) were dead before they reached 15 months of age.
Despite the bear being a protected species in Nevada, 89 bears were killed by vehicles, 27 by agency management actions for public safety, 17 for attacks on livestock, two due to illegal killing, and 16 due to other causes – such as being humanely put down because of their poor condition.
The study found that bears who lived in urban areas weighed an average of 30 per cent more than bears in wild areas due to a diet heavily supplemented by scavenged rubbish. As a result female bears give birth at a much earlier age – on average between four and five years old, compared with seven to eight years for bears in wild areas. Some urban bears around the Lake Tahoe area even produced young as early as two to three years of age.
The scientists concluded there had been a dramatic and rapid ecological shift of bears from the wild to urban areas in only 10 years to the extent that they found only one wild bear in the Carson Range outside the state capital of Carson City where historically they had always existed.
WCS researcher Jon Beckmann, the study’s lead author, said: “Urban areas are becoming the ultimate bear traps. Because of an abundant food source – namely garbage – bears are being drawn in from backcountry areas into urbanised landscapes where they meet their demise.”
The WCS is studying the effects of urban sprawl on a variety of wildlife and habitats in north America and is working with local authorities to increase the use of bear-proof rubbish containers and improve education efforts to reduce human-bear conflicts.
What does one do to save from extinction a creature as cantankerous and controversial as the grizzly bear? Do grizzlies still live in the North Cascades and what will it take to prevent them from dying out?
Grizzly Wars: The Public Fight Over the Great Bear, slated for publication in early October, examines these and many other questions about the contentious effort to recover grizzly bears in the Cascades and Northern Rockies, where they have been listed under the Endangered Species Act for more than 30 years.
Author David Knibb, a naturalist, lawyer, and author, shuns the role of an advocate to explain the issues. He uses the North Cascades to illustrate many of them — how recovery areas were picked, states rights, rural and urban conflicts, hiker anxieties, genetic concerns caused by isolation, minimum viable populations, and issues about moving bears from one area to another.
From the Cascades the book broadens to look at national wildlife politics and the five other recovery areas in the Northern Rockies. Knibb examines the key issues in each, including the debate over last year’s decision to remove Yellowstone’s grizzlies from the list of threatened species. In the process he discusses the critical role of states, the need for links between recovery areas, distinct populations, and cooperation with Canada on bears along the border.
In a separate chapter devoted to Canada, Knibb reviews the status and challenges facing grizzlies in British Columbia and Alberta.
In a foreword, Lance Craighead praises Knibb for reporting on such a controversial topic in a “careful and admirably unbiased” way. The book also earns praise from Doug Peacock, noted bear advocate, Brock Evans, president of the Endangered Species Coalition, and others.
After mid-October Grizzly Wars will be available in bookstores, or you can order it from Eastern Washington University Press at: http://ewupress.ewu.edu/howtoorder.htm
OLYMPIA – Investigations by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) detectives into illegal trafficking in bear gall bladders have resulted in hefty fines for two eastern Washington men and a year-long jail sentence for one of them.
It seems like more and more we are hearing about and dealing with human-wildlife conflicts which in many cases are more about conflicts between humans than about wildlife. As part of my job with the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP) and my job as a zoo keeper this topic comes up a lot. Dealing with this topic can be touchy so I was very excited to hear about a course that teaches about conflict dynamics and how to address them.
”The objective of this course is to improve the ability of conservation practitioners to understand conflict dynamics and establish more effective ways to address them. Participants will accomplish this by drawing on tools, processes, and theory developed in the field of conflict resolution that have shown to be applicable to conservation realities. As a result, conservation practitioners will possess a broader set of skills to ensure that conservation solutions are more successful and sustainable.” 
I would recommend this course to anyone that has to deal with human-wildlife conflict; it really does provide tools and guidance to prevent or resolve conflict issues. As someone who has never been good at dealing with human conflict, I left the course feeling like I can go out accomplish my goals and when conflicts arise I can handle them.
