Fighting for their Habitat
Statistics show a sharp increase in violent black bear encounters. As humans encroach on natural territories, black bears might be fighting for their habitat.
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Nearly two-thirds of all fatal black bear attacks in the 20th century occurred during the last 10 years, according to Stephen Herrero, bear authority and professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Calgary. Photo courtesy of David Kenyon / Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
The image of a sweet teddy bear cuddling and protecting children from the monsters under their bed may become obsolete in the near future. In all reality, bears aren’t always so lovable.
Naturally thought to be a meek creature, the Ursus americanus, or black bear, is gaining a new reputation across North America. While his close relative, the grizzly, is infamous for hostile behavior, the black bear has given it competition for this notoriety in recent years.
According to Stephen Herrero, professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Calgary and a bear authority, nearly two-thirds of all fatal black bear attacks in the 20th century occurred during its last 10 years.
Attacks have been reported from New York to Arizona, leaving behind unsuspecting victims. In 1996, a 16-year-old girl on a 4H outing near Tuscan, Ariz., was mauled by a black bear, leaving her disfigured for life. In a lawsuit against the State of Arizona, the girl settled for $2.5 million.
In this case, Herrero retracted a conclusion from one of his books under oath: “I do think there is more danger than I realized from food-conditioned, habituated and aggressive bears — the combination of the three. And if I were rewriting that chapter, I would emphasize that there are three ingredients: habituations, the food conditioning and rewarding aggressive behavior over time that increased the chances of injury … I have learned since the publication of the book that there is more involvement in serious injuries by black bears that I knew of at the time that I wrote the book.”
In 2003, two men in Rocky Mountain National Park had their slumber disturbed by a violent black bear. Biting down on one man’s head directly through the tent’s mesh, and swiping at the other, the bear caused enough damage for emergency medical need. Both men survived.
Part of a group, the men and their acquaintances had properly stored all food items up on a bear pole. Backpackers typically know the dangers associated with their sport, and take similar precautions.
“[I] make sure all scented items are put high in a tree with a bear bag,” said Emily Petz, an avid hiker and backpacker. “Never give a bear any reason to attack … [I] don’t fear the bears. I just like to take necessary precautions to prevent [encounters].”
While black bears seek nuts, acorns, fruit, insects and succulent greens as their preferred foods, they will resort to meat when their favorite foods are scant. Resource scarcities play a part in pushing bears to make increased human contact.
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| Photo courtesy of Tim Halverson / American Bear Association |
In some areas, unusually warm winters mean more bears survive. The overpopulation leads to more competition for resources.
Black bears have excellent long-term memories, especially when food is involved. When a bear stumbles upon an easy food source, such as garbage cans and dog food, the bear will not forget it. Rather, it may return more than 100 miles to the location it associates with food.
Urban sprawl and overdevelopment also takes a toll on the black bears’ natural habitat. Black bears require vast amounts of land. According to www.blackbear.org, female and mother bears typically claim 2 to 6 square miles for themselves and their cubs, while a male will span across seven to 15 female territories, searching for mates.
While males overlap because they must defend a territory of such magnitude, females are more protective of their turf.
Whatever the provocation, these bear-human encounters are resulting in aggressive bear behavior more often than the norm.
According to Herrero, the estimated 900,000 black bears across North America in the 1990s caused 29 human deaths during that decade. In contrast, 44 fatal black bear attacks occurred in the entire 20th century. That means 65.9 percent of black bear attacks have taken place in the last 10 percent of the century.
So far in the 2000s, 11 fatal attacks have occurred — three of them in 2005.
Authorities have two methods of dealing with this situation: moving and killing.
According to the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, translocation is when a hostile bear is trapped, transferred and introduced into a new bear population. While the effects of translocation on individual bears are unknown, it is feared that this procedure may introduce diseases through the translocated bear to the bear’s new population.
The trap-and-euthanize method is the lethal option for bear management, according to the Virginia office. This technique is exceptionally beneficial with hostile female black bears because it can prevent them from passing on hostile behavior to their offspring. But some environmentalists oppose killing bears.
Laura Rodgers, Michigan State University environmental studies graduate, has a hard time deciding where she stands on the debate. While she dislikes the notion of having to take the bears’ life, she doesn’t support translocation either.
“[I’m] skeptical of relocating [the bears] because I recognize the delicacy of the ecosystem, and I’d be nervous about putting the black bear in a [non-native population],” she said. “I don’t think [relocating] is the best solution.”
Rodgers has good reason for her skepticism. The bear that attacked the 16-year-old girl had been translocated before the incident. Being tagged and moved far away didn’t stop him from making his way back to his original territory, where the mauling took place.
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