Bear Managers Work to Decrease Human-Related Deaths

Though the legal status of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem has changed, agencies involved with bear recovery and management continue to track grizzly bear population dynamics and to reduce the potential for human-caused mortalities. Managers are hopeful about reduced bear mortalities as fall hunting seasons open in the three states that comprise the Yellowstone Ecosystem - Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. But they remind everyone who enters grizzly country before the bears enter their dens for winter to exercise extreme caution. Twenty human-related grizzly bear mortalities have been recorded so far this year in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. That is less than the 26 killed by this time last year, and below the limits set for both male and female bears. The numbers used to measure how the population is doing changes annually based upon counts of females with cubs observed by the agencies each spring and summer. "This year the number of females observed was 42, which puts the overall population estimate at 577," said Chuck Schwartz, leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. In estimating the population, neither the equation nor the way bears are tallied is based purely on observed animals. A complex, peer reviewed method of statistical analysis is applied. Ultimately, not only are bears killed by humans counted, but compensation is factored in for bears whose deaths likely were unrecorded. "What this means is that if a bear is removed from the ecosystem, it is counted as mortality because it is no longer part of the functioning population," Schwartz said. Despite the losses of individual bears, the population as a whole continues to increase and expand. While the Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee is concerned with the overall declining condition of whitebark pine stands across the ecosystem, cone production was high for remaining trees. "In live stands of whitebark pines, bears are likely abundant and feeding on cones," Schwartz said. "Hunters in the high country entering these stands should exercise caution." Grizzly bears in the ecosystem have proven to be effective omnivores and have been able to locate enough alternative wild foods that they don't need to seek out human-related food sources. "In areas where whitebark pine is dead, bears will seek alternate foods, especially meat," Schwartz said. "Hunters should be extremely careful with their kills, hang meat separate from gut piles, and clear the area as soon as possible." Hunters are encouraged to carry bear spray and use it if at all possible. The ability to switch from using a high-powered rifle as a tool for hunting to self-defense is a skill that requires practice and nerves of steel. Bear spray has proven effective in deterring charging bears, and results in no bears being wounded or killed. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team is comprised of biologists from state and federal agencies that monitor grizzly bear population trends in the Yellowstone ecosystem. The Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee's annual fall meeting will be from 1 p.m. October 28 to noon October 29 at the Snow King Resort in Jackson, Wyoming. Time will be allotted both days for public comment. The Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee includes representatives from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; the Shoshone, Bridger-Teton, Targhee, Gallatin, Beaverhead-Deerlodge, and Custer National Forests; the game and fish departments of the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey.