Human-Bear Interaction Final Report, Thesis, and Publications

Wildlife management has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Wildlife
managers now take on problems in endangered species recovery, non-game species management, and integrated management of entire systems. One traditional aspect of wildlife management that has been reshaped dramatically in the past two decades is the management of human-wildlife conflicts. Management of wildlife involved in conflicts has gone from simple “control programs” to a more integrated approach. This transformation has stemmed from a demand voiced by both professional biologists and the general public for more enlightened, broad based approaches. As the human population increases, interactions between wildlife and humans become more common place in areas where natural wildlife habitat still dominate the landscape. As humans invade wildlife habitat for recreation, transportation, or second home development, flashpoints for human-wildlife conflict are created. Perhaps none of these flashpoints is more vexing than human-black bear (Ursus americanus) conflicts in the intensively used National Parks of the United States.

Management of black bears in Yosemite National Park has been an important part of park management for decades. The numbers of human-bear incidents in the recent past highlighted the need to examine and evaluate the system of human-bear interactions in the park. We characterized and investigated components of both the human and bear elements of the park’s bear management program in an integrated approach. Components of the human element included a description and assessment of human behavior and beliefs as they related to human-bear conflicts, the information dissemination system, food storage, and enforcement. Components of the bear element included an examination of historical trends in reported conflicts between humans and bears and assessments of bear behavior, bear food habits, sources of edible garbage, and the functionality of food storage lockers in the park. Our findings contributed to a better understanding of the components and interactions of the human-bear system in the park and provided specific recommendations for improving bear management and reducing the number of human-bear conflicts.

For more information please contact Jeff Burrell