Factors Related to Grizzly Bear: Human Interactions in Denali National Park
Albert DM and Bowyer RT. 1991. Factors Related to Grizzly Bear: Human Interactions in Denali National Park. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 19(3):339-349
(Adapted from authors' abstract.) This report analyzes factors related to grizzly bear-human interactions in Denali National Park using incidents occuring between 1987 and 1989. The rate of interactions increased from 80 per million visitors in 1987 to 197 per million visitors in 1989. Most interactions in frontcountry areas occurred in early June and late August. Backcountry interactions strongly correlated with the number of people riding shuttle buses and may have been caused by less-habituated bears moving from frontcountry to backcountry areas, or from seasonal changes in habitat selection by bears. Efforts to minimize interactions between bears and people will increase visitor safety and reduce opportunities for bears to obtain food from humans. The authors believe better education of U.S. National Park Service personnel, concession employees, and park visitors about bears, and reducing human activity in habitats used by both people and bears offer the greatest likelihood of achieving this goal.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Albert, David; Bowyer, R
- Units
- DENA
- Keywords
- Backcountry, Bear-human Interactions, Behavior, Denali National Park And Preserve, Grizzly Bears, Mount Mckinley National Park, Mt. McKinley National Park, Park Management, Terrestrial Mammals, Ursus arctos