Alberta Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan 2008-2013 - Alberta Sustainable ...

Number of mortalities
50
40
30
20
10
Illegal
Self-defense
Regulated
0
Dec.
Nov.
Oct.
Sep.
Aug.
Jul.
Jun.
May
Apr.
Mar.
Feb.
Jan.
Month
Figure 6. Number of illegal, self-defence and regulated harvest mortalities by month, 1990 – 2007.
* Regulated harvest suspended in 2006.
C. Problem Wildlife (Agency Control)
On provincial lands, Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division are responsible for managing “problem
bears” (bears considered to be a threat to human safety or property). Killing problem bears
accounted for approximately 6.0% of known mortalities (1990-2007, Figure 2). Problem bear
issues (considered a type of human/bear conflict) are usually a result of improperly stored
attractants, and therefore, improper storage of attractants represents one of the primary
threats to grizzly bear persistence. Attractants can be natural or manmade, and are a result of
human presence or activities. Bear attractants include, but are not limited to, garbage, human and
pet food, game meat, agricultural feed and grains, fruit trees, beehives and livestock. Types of
problem bear issues vary throughout the province and tend to be associated with proximity of
agriculture, tourism centres, and settlements to grizzly bear range (refer to Table 1 for regional
issues). Within national parks, problem bear issues are often a result of improper attractant
storage.
Problem bear management actions in Alberta include both short and long distance relocations of
problem bears. The number of relocations varies by year and BMA (Figure 7), with the greatest
number in southern Alberta. The number of relocations has been steady or slightly increasing
(variable between BMAs) since 1990, when the new management plan was implemented
(Alberta Fish and Wildlife, unpubl. data). Of the 256 bears relocated between 1974 and 2002,
there were 15 subsequent known deaths within a relatively short time after relocation (11 within
one year of release and four between one and four years after release; Alberta Fish and Wildlife
Division, unpubl. data). However, the number of deaths is likely higher because there is little or
no follow up on the fate of relocated bears. Limited research has estimated that approximately
30% of relocated bears die following relocation (Blanchard and Knight 1995). These mortalities
may be a result of moving bears to unfamiliar and/or poorer quality habitats, relocated bears
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