AR-News: Just Another Black Bear

[jim robertson]

Just Another Black Bear
On a warm July evening, a little over a year ago, a colleague and I watched 
a young, male cinnamon-phase black bear feeding in a dandelion meadow in 
Banff National Park. I was involved in the bear management program at the 
time and was reasonably familiar with the various bears that frequented the 
road -corridor in that particular part of the park. This was a bear, 
however, that I did not recognize. Most of the bears my colleagues and I saw 
on a regular basis were habituated to people to one extent or another. Most 
of them, too, were the subjects of on-going monitoring and various research 
projects, and, as a result, were generally ear-tagged and/or radio-collared.
<snip>

After being caught he was anaesthetized, weighed, fitted with a radio-collar 
and a radio ear-tag, to be sure that he could still be monitored in the 
event of failure of one or the other. In addition, a blood- sample and a 
tooth were taken, both standard procedures in the utilitarian world of 
wildlife immobilization. The tooth, as it happens, broke off beneath the 
gum-line as it was being extracted, leaving an exposed nerve that was quite 
likely to result in an abcess. During the attempt to extract the tooth, 
although under the influence of the immobilizing drug, the bear squirmed 
with pain, to the extent that it was feared he would come round, and more of 
the drug was administered. Teeth are taken, and analyzed in a laboratory, so 
that the exact age of the animal can be recorded. However, there are many 
ways that an experienced technician can ‘age’ an animal within a year, 
either way, of being exactly correct, that simply involve observation and 
inspection. I have often wondered why we feel we need to know the age of an 
animal so specifically, and how many teeth, so harshly taken, are actually 
analyzed at all! I looked at the bear, now named ‘33’ as he lay trussed and 
anchored at my feet; he seemed so small and inoffensive, so violated, this 
menace who was known-about thousands of miles away. Here he was in his 
reality; a three-year-old black bear who weighed less than me! The grim 
procedure finished, ‘33’ was hefted back into the culvert-trap where he was 
observed until he regained consciousness and where he was then left for the 
night.

It had been decided that on-site aversive-conditioning would be applied upon 
releasing the bear, in the morning. This is a methodology that has shown 
considerable success, particularly amongst black bears, in a growing number 
of areas in North America; it appears as one solution in a climate of 
thought that suggests there are few places left to move ‘problem’ bears to: 
A mock camp was set up and the Park Wardens present used fleece jackets to 
disguise their uniforms and to appear, as much as possible, like ordinary 
campers. (There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that Warden/Ranger uniforms 
and vehicles become recognizable to bears, who associate them with 
aggressive reaction, rather than ambivalence or retreat, and that they 
respond differently to them than they do to park visitors). Prior to 
releasing the bear the culvert-trap was hit with sticks to create a 
frightening din, a brutal-sounding procedure that, in fact, does the bear no 
harm and has the result of a bad association with a particular area. This 
part of the manipulation had gone according to rule, until this point, when 
a mistake was made that could have cost the bear very dearly; an entire can 
of capsicum pepper-spray was emptied into the culvert-trap.....just prior to 
the release of the bear! When the door was sprung the bear stumbled out to a 
salvo of firecracker rounds and rubber-bullets, the final cherry on the cake 
of the degradation he had already suffered. As might be expected he 
collapsed about 70 meters from the trap.

Continued:  http://www.ursusinternational.org/page1023390881.mv



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