Are nuisance incidents of black bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park influenced by availability of anthropogenic foods on private lands?
Clark J. 2016. Are nuisance incidents of black bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park influenced by availability of anthropogenic foods on private lands?. National Park Service
The objectives or this study are to determine (1) how access to anthropogenic food sources outside GRSM influences the severity of nuisance bear behavior within GRSM, (2) where those food sources are, and (3) how bear movements and time are partitioned between GRSM and private lands. We envision this to be a three year project with the following hypotheses for testing: unknown nuisance bears that display more advanced nuisance behavior (e.g., day-active) in GRSM have greater access to anthropogenic foods on private lands than bears with lower levels of nuisance behavior (night-active), that day-active nuisance bears are more likely to have a history of feeding on anthropogenic foods, and day-active bears captured in GRSM use anthropogenic food sources outside the national park. A total of 14 bears were collared from May through September 2015, five males and nine females. Average male bear weight was approximately 187 pounds and average female bear weight was approximately 134 pounds. One of the male bears was a yearling estimated at 50 pounds. Out of the nine female bears, seven had cubs, and the average number of cubs was approximately 2.5 cubs per female. Many of the study bears began leaving the park boundaries beginning in early September, likely due to a hard mast failure and coinciding with fall hyperphagia. The hard mast failure may have contributed to the disproportionate number of female nuisances bears versus males. Collared bears traveled as far as Murphy, NC, and Hartford, TN. Black bear natural diet food items have also been collected for analysis. Stable isotope analysis will begin in early 2016 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
- Type
- Generic Dataset
- Authors
- Clark, Joe
- Date of Issue
- 2016-10-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- APHN, Appalachian Highlands Network, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM, GRSM Permitted Study ID: GRSM-01222, SER, Southeast Region
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals