Experimental Repatriation of Black Bears to the Big South Fork Area of Kentucky and Tennessee

Eastridge, Rick

ABSTRACT: Black bears (Ursus americanus) have been extirpated from the Big South Fork Area (BSFA) of Kentucky and Tennessee since the turn of the 20th century. Although this area is within the bear's historic range, it may be unreachable to individual bears through natural dispersal. Wildlife managers and the public were interested in reestablishing a population of black bears to BSF A. A habitat analysis found that the area could support bears. However, managers remained concerned about how humans would interact with bears; furthermore, managers needed to know how to overcome the homing ability of translocated bears. I tested 2 translocation techniques designed to limit the homing ability of bears. Both techniques were based on the concept of a soft release, involving a short period of acclimation prior to release. The first was a winter-release technique, involving the translocation of pre- or post-parturient bears from their dens and placing them in dens within the release area. The second, a summer-release technique, involved translocating bears to the release area during the summer and holding the bears in pens for a 2-week acclimation period. I translocated a total of 14 bears from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to BSF A, a distance of approximately 160 km. I translocated 8 bears with the winterrelease technique and 6 bears with the summer-release technique. I compared post-release movements between the 2 release techniques for the first 2 weeks post-release with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. No difference in total movement (Z = 1.357, P = 0.1747) or net movement (Z = 1.214, P = 0.100) was found between winter- and summer-released bears. However, because of rapid movements outside BSF A, complete movement data for 2 summer-released bears were not available. Therefore, I substituted the mean total and net movements of summer-released bears for these 2 bears during the interim when their signals were lost. The total movement of winter-released bears was less (Z = 2.227, P = 0.013) than summer-released bears for the first 2 weeks post-release. Also, the net movement of winter-released bears was less (Z = 2.217, P = 0.013) than summer-released bears for the first 2 weeks post-release. The average daily movement of winter-released bears was less (Z = 2.214, P = 0.027) than summer-released bears during the first 2 weeks post-release. Circuity was less (Z = 2.074, P = 0.038) for winter-released bears than for summer-released bears during the first 2 weeks post-release....