Profile analysis of human - bear relationships in Katmai National Park and Preserve: final report
Braaten AM, Gilbert BK, Fitkin SH. 1986. Profile analysis of human - bear relationships in Katmai National Park and Preserve: final report. US National Park Service, Alaska Region. Anchorage, AK
This final report for the U.S. National Park Service, Alaska Region, summarizes field studies undertaken to provide a behavioral profile of interactions between brown bears and people on the Brooks River. Studies were conducted during the summers of 1985 and 1986 specifically to investigate habituation by subadult brown bears to anglers. Data were collected through behavioral observations of day-to-day activities, primarily from elevated platforms to lessen any potential impacts of the observers. The authors found that adult bears tolerated proximity to humans more than did subadults, who were not able to feed as long or as near people. The authors suggest that intraspecific interaction of subadults is the most important proximate factor confounding habituation to humans by the young bears. Data supports the hypothesis that because subadults spend so much time (7.43% of the sample) keeping track of or avoiding other bears, the additional strain of tolerating humans within short distances (where food may be easier to obtain) may be more than it is worth to them energetically. In addition, habituation to humans appears to be a process influenced by parental example, as well as by a number of other more subtle factors, so that it may not fully develop until adulthood.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Braaten, Anne; Gilbert, Barrie; Fitkin, Scott
- Date of Issue
- 1986
- Publisher
- US National Park Service, Alaska Region
- Units
- KATM
- Keywords
- bear interactions, Bears, Behavior, Brooks Camp, Brooks Falls, Brooks River, Brown Bears, Human Impacts, Katmai National Park And Preserve, Terrestrial Mammals, Ursus arctos