Human–black bear interactions in Northern Mexico

Nuñez-Torres, M. F.; Zarco‐González, Martha M.; Monroy‐Vilchis, Octavio; Carrera-Treviño, Rogelio

doi:10.1080/10871209.2020.1752419

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…While most large carnivores are absent from urbanized areas, several species co-occur with people in human-dominated regions [4,5], where they are often associated with human-wildlife conflict [6,7]. The North American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a large carnivore that can adapt to human-dominated areas and is associated with increasing human-wildlife conflict [8,9] throughout North America e.g., [6,10,11], including urban areas [12][13][14] and suburban ones [7,9]. Human-black bear conflict occurs when bears access garbage [6,15], damage property [12,16], feed on pets or livestock [17], are involved in vehicle collisions [18], and, rarely, attack humans [8,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aversive conditioning increases short-term wariness but does not change habitat use in black bears associated with conflict

Homstol,

Raymond,

Edwards

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Conflict between humans and black bears (Ursus americanus) occurs throughout North America with increasing public demand to replace lethal management with non-lethal methods, such as aversive conditioning (AC). AC aims to teach animals to associate negative stimuli with humans or their infrastructure. We sought to test the efficacy of AC using radio-collared black bears in Whistler, British Columbia, by monitoring individuals and assigning those in conflict with people to control or treatment groups. We measured wariness using overt reaction distance, displacement distance, and reaction to researchers before, during and after executing 3–5-day AC programs that consisted of launching projectiles at bears in the treatment group. We also assessed predictors of successful AC events (i.e., leaving at a run), changes in bear use of human-dominated habitat during the day and at night, and the effects of including a sound stimulus to signal the beginning and end of AC events. Among treated bears, overt reaction distance increased by 46.5% and displacement distance increased by 69.0% following AC programs, whereas both overt reaction distance and displacement distance decreased over time among control group bears. Each additional AC event during the previous 30 days increased likelihood of bear departure in response to researcher presence by 4.5%. The success of AC events varied among individuals, declined with distance to cover, and increased with exposure to previous AC events. Projectiles launched from guns were slightly more effective at causing bears to displace compared to those launched from slingshots, and sound stimuli decreased the likelihood of a successful AC event. AC did not alter diurnal use by bears of human-dominated habitat. Our results suggest that AC effectively increases short-term wariness in black bears but does not alter bear use of human-dominated spaces, highlighting the importance of proactive attractant management and prevention of food conditioning.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aversive conditioning increases short-term wariness but does not change habitat use in black bears associated with conflict

Homstol,

Raymond,

Edwards

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…Some health complications have been reflected in bears as a result of human-animal interaction such as physiological consequences of consuming low-energy foods could be a response to anthropogenic activity [10] or black bears alter movements in response to anthropogenic features with time of day and season [11]. Furthermore, U. americanus can change its natural behavior by consuming food from anthropogenic sources, during hyperphagia period which is before wintering [12]. Numerous metabolic changes occur in certain physiological states in bears such as hibernation, during which time there is leucine synthesis, reduced glucose use and increased lipolysis [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free amino acid and acylcarnitine values in Ursus americanus Pallas 1780 (black bear) from Northeastern Mexico

et al. 2023

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Introduction Ursus americanus Pallas 1780 is the largest carnivore and the only ursid in Mexico. It is considered an endangered species in the country because its distribution and population have been reduced by up to 80% because of habitat loss or furtive hunting. These problems can lead to a diet change, which could result in metabolic disorders, such as fatty acid β-oxidation defects or organic acid metabolism disorders. In our study, a free amino acid and acylcarnitine profile was characterized. Methods Peripheral blood samples were drawn from nine free-ranging black bears in a period of five months, from June to October of 2019 in Northeastern Mexico, and 12 amino acids and 30 acylcarnitines were determined and quantified. Age differences were observed in the samples through ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test. Results Only three metabolites showed a significant difference with age: alanine (Ala) [cubs vs juvenile], free-carnitine (C0) [juvenile vs cubs] and acetylcarnitine (C2) [cubs vs adults and juvenile vs cubs]. Conclusion Metabolites with variability due to age were identified, making them potential biomarkers to monitor metabolic status as early diagnosis in endangered species. This is the first study of black bear amino acid and acylcarnitine profiles, and the values found could be used as reference for free amino acid and acylcarnitine concentrations in further studies of the species.

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Conservation of black bear (Ursus americanus) in Mexico through GPS tracking: crossing and roadkill sites

Zarco-González,

Carrera-Treviño,

Monroy-Vilchis

2023

Wildlife Res.

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Context Road networks are related to two global problems: habitat loss and degradation, and the decline of biodiversity. Wildlife roadkill is one of the most obvious and immediate impacts of linear infrastructure that affects all vertebrate groups, and some species, such as large carnivores, are more susceptible to fragmentation by roads due to their wide-ranging movements and home ranges. Aims Recently, black bear (Ursus americanus) sightings have increased in urban and suburban areas. The objectives of this study were: to identify and characterise road crossing sites used by black bears; to understand whether bears select specific landscape or road features for crossing; to compare crossing and roadkill sites; and to identify the most important variables in both groups to propose short-term mitigation strategies. Methods For the analysis of crossing sites, black bear individuals were captured from 2014 to 2018 and released with a GPS collar. We also calculated the dynamic model of Brownian motion to identify the road crossing sites. We obtained collision records from field work and government agencies. We performed Firth’s penalised-likelihood logistic regression models to identify the most important variables of highway or landscape in the probability of crossing or roadkill. Key results We captured 15 black bear individuals (11 males and four females), seven of which crossed a road at least once. Most of the crossings occurred during the night, which explains the results of the regression model between crossing and roadkill sites because crossings are a function of the percentage of buses and urban use. We also found that the speed at roadkill sites is significantly higher than at crossing sites. Conclusions This study contributed aspects necessary to understand the management of highways and reduce their impact on the black bear population in Mexico, such as the identification of priority mitigation sites. Systematic monitoring of roadkill in Mexico is required to propose specific mitigation sites that will benefit more vertebrate groups. Implications The information generated in this research forms the basis of identification of optimal sites for strategies to mitigate the bear–road conflict and help the conservation of the species.

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Human–black bear interactions in Northern Mexico

Cited by 3 publications

References 50 publications

Aversive conditioning increases short-term wariness but does not change habitat use in black bears associated with conflict

Aversive conditioning increases short-term wariness but does not change habitat use in black bears associated with conflict

Free amino acid and acylcarnitine values in Ursus americanus Pallas 1780 (black bear) from Northeastern Mexico

Conservation of black bear (Ursus americanus) in Mexico through GPS tracking: crossing and roadkill sites

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