Effects of Roads on Black Bear Distribution in Southern Vermont

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a wide-ranging, large carnivore species that makes use of multiple habitat types throughout the year. In the northeastern US, black bears require large areas of relatively undisturbed forest and avoid development, such as urban and suburban areas. Roads represent another form of development that may affect the distribution of bears. However, the effects of roads remain largely unknown and represent a potential conservation concern. We sought to determine the relationship between roads and distribution of black bears in a forested region of southern Vermont. We examined the probability of occurrence of black bears using GPS-collar data (n = 30,179 locations) collected from a marked population of bears (n = 8 females, 15 males) from 2011 to 2014. We then constructed a set of 7 candidate models to explain occupancy that included combinations of three road types: secondary, vehicular, and local. Model selection techniques were used to determine the best model in the set. Models were performed separately for male and female bears, which have been shown to exhibit different distribution patterns elsewhere. The top model for each sex was the most complex in the set, and included the additive combination of all three road types. For males, vehicular and local roads positively affected occupancy, whereas secondary roads had a negative influence on occupancy. For females, vehicular and secondary roads positively affected occupancy, whereas local roads negatively affected occupancy. Our results indicate that small, low traffic, residential and ATV roads influence bear distribution; most likely by providing easy pathways to travel through the forested landscape and food resources not found elsewhere. Secondary and local roads also affect sexes differently, which could result in demographic and genetic consequences. Models provide a measure of the effect of different roads on bear distribution that can help inform decision-making about development in the forested landscapes of Vermont

Mortality Rates of North American Bears

The age structures of 39 populations of three species of North American bears were analyzed. Estimated mortality rates of cubs in their first year were 30-40% for brown bears and 25-30% for black bears. Apparent subadult mortality rates derived from living animals (15-35% annually) were higher than those of adults. Apparent mean annual mortality rates of subadult and adult females combined were 17.2, 16.8, and 18.8% for black, brown, and polar bears respectively. Comparable values for males were 25.5, 23.0, and 22.6% annually. Because hunting appears to be the major mortality factor in most North American bear populations, interpretation of age structures is facilitated by explicitly incorporating the effects of hunting and its associated biases in the analyses. The simple model proposed to accommodate the hunter-bear interaction clarifies differences in age distributions between species and between sexes within species. Most of the differences in sex-specific mortality rates are a product of differential vulnerability related to home range size and method of hunting.Key words: age distribution, bears, mortality rates, North America, sex ratios, Ursus speciesMots clés: distribution d'âge, ours, taux de mortalité, Amérique du Nord, proportion par sexe, espèce Ursu

Green and is the new black: a grammar of ecocritical readings in african american poetry and envirommental justice law

"I begin this paper with two excerpts from African American poetry. The first evokes a past in which blacks were possessions; the second, a future in which they are interplanetary pilgrims. To connect them, I’d like to offer a quote not from verse but from the public discourse of African American environmental justice activist, Van Jones: “In my neighborhood, you go around talking to people about polar bears, they are not feeling you.”...""I begin this paper with two excerpts from African American poetry. The first evokes a past in which blacks were possessions; the second, a future in which they are interplanetary pilgrims. To connect them, I’d like to offer a quote not from verse but from the public discourse of African American environmental justice activist, Van Jones: “In my neighborhood, you go around talking to people about polar bears, they are not feeling you...

First report of a South American short-faced bears' den (Arctotherium angustidens): palaeobiological and palaeoecological implications

Here we report the first example of associated short-faced bear fossils from South America. The specimens represent three individuals referable to the Ensenadan (early to middle Pleistocene) species Arctotherium angustidens (Ursidae, Tremarctinae), the giant South American short-faced bear. Although the fossil record of short-faced bears in South America is very rich, they have not previously been recorded in association. These three individuals were found in a cave during quarry exploitation. We suggest that these bears represent the first record of a family group and open the discussion about cave utilization and hibernation or torpor by South American short-faced bears.Museo de La Plat

First report of a South American short-faced bears' den (<i>Arctotherium angustidens</i>): palaeobiological and palaeoecological implications

Here we report the first example of associated short-faced bear fossils from South America. The specimens represent three individuals referable to the Ensenadan (early to middle Pleistocene) species Arctotherium angustidens (Ursidae, Tremarctinae), the giant South American short-faced bear. Although the fossil record of short-faced bears in South America is very rich, they have not previously been recorded in association. These three individuals were found in a cave during quarry exploitation. We suggest that these bears represent the first record of a family group and open the discussion about cave utilization and hibernation or torpor by South American short-faced bears.Museo de La PlataFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Paleozoological stable isotope data for modern management of historically extirpated Missouri black bears (Ursus americanus)

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Aug. 20, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. R. Lee Lyman.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.Human population growth and intensification of resource extraction during the 19th century changed the American landscape. Deforestation, residential sprawl and hunting activities impacted the behavior and sometimes the existence of native species. By the early 1900s, North American black bears (Ursus americanus) were extirpated from Missouri. Modern efforts to restore this species to the region are guided by the assumption that extant extra-local black bear ecology accurately depicts native Missouri ursid ecology. Paleozoological data provide the only means to test this assumption. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of skeletal remains of ten late Holocene black bears from Lawson Cave in central Missouri reveals three aspects of native black bear diet: 1) Lawson Cave black bears are isotopically distinct from herbivores and carnivores; 2) There is no clear trend in black bear diet over the past 600 years; and 3) Lawson Cave black bear diet is not significantly different from that of modern black bears. Native Missouri black bears, as reflected by the Lawson Cave ursids, are no different from extralocal modern black bears in terms of diet. Therefore, these ecological data can be applied to future management and conservation planning regarding Missouri black bears by indicating appropriate regions (which can support the resource-use habits of black bears) for relocation programs.Includes bibliographical references

Characteristics of Non-Fatal Attacks by Black Bears: Conterminous United States, 2000–2017

Attacks on humans by bears (Ursus spp.) have increased in recent decades, as both human and bear populations have increased. To help mitigate the risk of future attacks, it is important to understand the circumstances in past attacks. Information and analyses exist regarding fatal attacks by both American black bears (Ursus americanus) and brown bears (U. arctos) as well as non-fatal attacks by brown bears. No similarly thorough analyses on non-fatal attacks by black bears are available. Our study addressed this information gap by analyzing all (n = 210) agency-confirmed, non-fatal attacks by black bears in the 48 conterminous United States during 2000 to 2017. Most attacks were defensive (52%), while 15% were predatory and 33% were food-motivated. Of defensive attacks, 85% were by female bears, and 91% of those females had young. Of predatory attacks, 95% were by male bears, and of food-motivated attacks, 80% were by male bears. Forty percent of defensive attacks by female bears involved dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Sixty-four percent had an attractant present during the attack and 74% indicated there were reports of property damage by bears or of bears getting a food-reward in the area prior to the attack. A classification and regression tree model show the highest proportion of severe attacks were among a female victim who was with a dog and who fought back during an attack. When compared with previous studies of fatal attacks by black bears, which are typically predatory attacks by male bears, our results illustrate clear differences between fatal and non-fatal attacks. Our study also lends evidence to the hypothesis that dogs can trigger defensive attacks by black bears. These results have implications for risk assessment, attack mitigation, and how we advise the public to respond to an attacking bear

Charles Grace Oral History Interview: Polar Bear Oral History Project

Records of an oral history project done with veterans of the American Expeditionary Force, North Russia, 1918-1919 (“Polar Bears”). The collection also contains general background materials pertaining to the Polar Bears. Includes interview transcripts, cassette tapes, articles, bibliographies, diaries, clippings, photographs, microfilm and a book. Accession No.: H88-0239.5 Provenance: Polar Bear Oral History Project Donor: Hope College History Department Photographs: 24 images Processed by: Craig Wright, February 1991 Catherine Jung, April 200

The Grizzly, February 6, 1996

Hinojosa Smith\u27s Sense of Place • Will Keim Speaks to Greeks • Du Pont: All the Facts • Political Gibberish • Selling the American Dream • Sculptures on Display at Berman Museum • Michael Cochrane Quartet to Perform • The Piano Man Plays Trenton State College • Bears Set Scoring Record • Men and Women\u27s Teams Endure Tough Week • The Ursinus Mascot: Part 2 • Men\u27s Hoop Team Defeats Muhlenberg 80-71 • Bears Defeat Haverford, Trounce Delaware Valleyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1373/thumbnail.jp