Gibeau, M. and Herrero, S. 2000. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project:
A Progress Report for 1999 (ESGBP): April 2000. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
Note: You can also download a PDF version of this report.
NEW FEATURE: Table of Contents links and Table links are activated in this file (HTML format).
Prepared for the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Steering Committee
This paper contains preliminary results of an on-going study and should not be cited
without permission from the authors.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
STUDY AREA
METHODS
RESULTS
NEW REPORTS
POPULATION STUDIES
CAPTURE
TELEMETRY DATA SET
POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS
LITERATURE CITED
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Grizzly bear capture data in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1999
Table 2. Status of all grizzly bears captured in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, as of December 1999.
Table 3. Unduplicated grizzly bear females with cubs of the year in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 through 1999
Table 4. Reproductive status of known female grizzly bears in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1999.
Table 5. Summary of grizzly bear translocations in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 through 1999.
Table 6. Summary of grizzly bear mortalities in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 through 1999.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A very successful sixth field season would not have been possible without the dedication of field biologists C. Hague, C. Mueller and S. Stevens. Their efforts were augmented through the largely volunteer support of C. Campbell and M. Lacroix. Assistance in coordination of field staff was provided by A. Dibb, S. Donelon and T. Hurd. Trapping was conducted by C. Mamo. Veterinary care was provided by Dr. Todd Shury. Several Alberta Fish and Wildlife Officers, Banff National Park Wardens and Peter Lougheed Park Rangers all provided invaluable safety backup and field assistance during trapping. The Banff Park Warden Service and Kananaskis Country Park Rangers provided logistical support through all stages of monitoring. Exemplary flying skills were provided by Alpine Helicopters of Canmore and fixed wing pilot M. Dupuis of Wildlife Observation Air Services.
The Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Steering Committee helped implement and guided this research. All steering committee participants contribute either money, time or both toward the objectives. Through the Steering Committee, governments, industry, business and conservation groups work together to support this project. The supporters include:
Alberta Environment
Natural Resources Service (NRS)
Lands & Forest Service
Alberta Cattle Commission
Alberta Conservation Association
Alberta Energy Utilities Board Committee (EUB)
Alberta Off-Highway Vehicle Association
Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife Foundation
Alpine Helicopters
AMOCO Canada Petroleum Co. Ltd.
Anonymous Foundation donor
Bow Valley Naturalists
British Columbia Ministry of Environment
Wildlife Division
Calgary Area Outdoor Council (CAOC)
Calgary Zoo
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
Canadian Pacific Charitable Foundation
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)Calgary/Banff Chapter
Canmore Collegiate High School
Crown of the Continent Electronic Data Atlas
Eagle Terrace Developments
Elbow Valley Campgrounds
Friends of Banff
Friends of Kananaskis Country
Foothills Model Forest Grizzly Bear Project
Human Resources Development Canada
Husky Oil
Miistakis Institute
Mistaya Communications
Mountain Electronics
Mountain Equipment Co-op
National Science and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC)
Parks Canada
Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
Rigel Energy
Shell Canada LimitedSpray Lakes Sawmills (1980) Ltd.
Springbank Middle School
Switching Gear
Totem Outdoor Outfitters
Three Sisters Resorts
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
Faculty of Environmental Design
Resources & the Environment Program
Warner Guiding and Outfitting Ltd.
Wilburforce Foundation
Wilderness Medical Society
World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF)
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
During 1999 our research focused on the effects of both motorized and non-motorized tourism oriented activities on grizzly bears. One of our principle research questions is how do grizzly bear’s spatial and temporal use patterns differ in areas of high human presence compared to areas with low human presence in a landscape, some of which is dominated by tourism activities? Our situation is unique in that no other grizzly bear study area in North America has both a high volume transcontentinal highway and railway dissecting occupied grizzly bear habitat along with intensive tourism. Analysis has never been done on the effects of such levels of human presence on grizzly bears. One important question is the extent to which the Bow River Valley continues to function as a major movement corridor for bears providing connectivity between habitats.
The overall goal of ESGBP research is to understand how developments and human-induced mortality impact grizzly bears. Specific research objectives include:
1. Determine the basic demographic parameters for the grizzly bear population within the study area.
2. Detect spatial and temporal activity patterns of bears given various levels of human influences.
3. Determine how the distribution of humans affects a bear’s ability to use the landscape.
4. Determine if population connectivity is being impeded by major transportation corridors.
5. Determine what adjustments to human activities would give bears better access to resources.
6. Suggest management alternatives for integrating land uses compatible with bear habitat and survival needs for the study area.
STUDY AREA
The area of interest remains unchanged from year 1 with the approximately 11,400 km2 Bow River Watershed, from its headwaters to approximately where it meets the prairies, as the core study area. The greater study area defined by the movement of radio-collared bears is about 22,000 km2 or roughly twice the size of the core study area. At the largest scale our research encompasses the 42,000 km2 Central Rockies Ecosystem (Komex International 1995).
METHODS
Methods for both the capture and monitoring of bears remain unchanged from the detailed description found in the year 1 progress report (Gibeau and Herrero 1995). Approximately 25 grizzly bears per year have active radio‑collars. These bears are monitored from air and ground wherever they go and our budget permits. Aerial monitoring gives infrequent, but relatively unbiased data regarding location. This facilitates understanding of home range, movements and habitat use. Ground‑based research allows intensive monitoring of grizzly bear activities related to development features such as towns, highways, campgrounds and trails. Mortality is monitored using both aerial and ground‑based telemetry. The radio‑telemetry monitoring area includes lands under several different jurisdictions. In the British Columbia portion of these lands, where some of our radio‑collared grizzly bears are found, there is a Western Slopes Bear Research Project (Woods pers. comm.) which provides complementary data and will allow a broader ecosystem versus provincial boundary‑based understanding of grizzly bears in the Central Rockies Ecosystem.
RESULTS
NEW REPORTS
Three new reports are now available that synthesize specific components of our research project:
1) Stevens, S., C, Mamo, M. Gibeau, and T. Shury. 2000. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project capture program, 1994-1998. A report to the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project Steering Committee, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
2) Herrero, S., P.S. Miller, and U.S. Seal (eds.) 2000. Population and habitat viability assessment for the grizzly bear of the central rockies ecosystem (Ursus arctos). Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, and Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, Minnesota.
3) Gibeau, M.L. 2000. A conservation biology approach to management of grizzly bears in Banff National Park, Alberta. PhD. Dissertation, Resources and the Environment Program,University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
Publications, papers, reports and posters by members of the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project as of April 2000 include:
Benn, Bryon. 1998. Grizzly bear mortality in the Central Canadian Rockies Ecosystem
Master’s Degree Project, EVDS, University of Calgary. 147 pp. + appendicies
Benn, Bryon, and Stephen Herrero. In preparation. Access and grizzly bear mortality in
Banff and Yoho National Parks, 1971-1998. Prepared for submission to
Conservation Biology.
Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project. 1998. Grizzly bear population and habitat status in
Kananaskis Country, Alberta: A report to the Department of Environmental
Protection, Natural Resources Service, Alberta. Prepared by the Eastern Slopes
Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. 91 pp.
Gibeau, Michael L. 1995. Implications of preliminary genetic findings for grizzly bear
conservation in the Central Canadian Rockies. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear
Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
Gibeau, Michael L. 1998. Grizzly bear habitat effectiveness model for Banff, Yoho and
Kootenay National Parks, Canada. Ursus 10: 235-241.
Gibeau, Michael L. 2000. A conservation biology approach to management of grizzly
bears in Banff National Park. Ph.D. thesis, Resources and the environment
program, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. 129 pp. (Individual
chapters prepared for publication can also be found in this list.)
Gibeau, Michael L. and Stephen Herrero. 1995-2000. Eastern slopes grizzly bear project:
A progress report for 1994,95,96,97,98,99 (six separate documents) Eastern
Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
Gibeau, Michael L. and Karsten Heuer. 1996. Effects of transportation corridors on
large carnivores in the Bow River Valley. In: Evink, G.L. et al. eds. Proceedings
of the transportation related wildlife mortality seminar. FL-ER-58-96, State of
Florida Department of Transportation, Environmental Management Office,
Tallahassee.
Gibeau, Michael L., Stephen Herrero, John L. Kansas, and Bryon Benn. 1996. Grizzly
bear population and habitat status in Banff National Park. A report to the Banff Bow Valley Task Force. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. 62 pp.
Gibeau, Michael L. and Stephen Herrero. 1998. Roads, rails and grizzly bears in the
Bow River Valley, Alberta. In: Evink, G.L. et al. eds. Proceedings International Conference on Ecology and Transportation, FL-ER-69-98, Florida Department of Transportation, Talahassee. 263pp .
Gibeau, Michael L., and Stephen Herrero. 2000. Movement patterns of female grizzly bears in a landscape with extensive tourism. Submitted to Canadian Journal of Zoology.
Gibeau, Michael L., Stephen Herrero, Bruce N. McLellan, and John G. Woods. 2000.
Managing for grizzly bear security areas in Banff National Park and the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains. Ursus12:121-130
Gibeau, Michael L., Anthony P. Clevenger, Stephen Herrero, and Jack Wierchowski.
2000. Grizzly bear response to human development and activities in the Bow River watershed, Alberta. Submitted to Biological Conservation.
Gibeau, Michael L., Anthony P. Clevenger, Stephen Herrero, and Jack Wierchowski.
2000. Effects of highways on grizzly bear movement in the Bow River watershed, Alberta. Submitted to Conservation Biology.
Herrero, Stephen. 1994. The Canadian National Parks and grizzly bear ecosystems: The
need for interagency management. Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 9(1):7-21.
Herrero, Stephen, David Poll, Mike Gibeau, John Kansas, and Barry Worbets. 1998. The
eastern slopes grizzly bear project: Origins, organization and direction.
Pps. 47-52 in D. Onysko and R. Usher eds., Protected areas in resource-based
economies: Sustaining biodiversity and ecological integrity. Canadian Council
on Ecological Areas, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Herrero, Stephen, Jillian Roulet, and Michael L. Gibeau. 1998. Banff National Park:
Science and policy in grizzly bear management. 11th. Int. Conf. Bear Res. and
Manage. In Press.
Herrero, Stephen, Phillip Miller, and Ulysses Seal. 2000. Population and habitat viability
Assessment for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) of the Central Rockies Ecosystem.
Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, and Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, 12101 Johnny Cake Ridge
Road, Apple Valley, MN, USA. 92 pp.
Jalkotzy, Martin, Rick Riddell and Jack Wierchowski. 1998. Grizzly bears and habitat
effectiveness in the Skoki, Baker, South Pipestone, and Lake Louise bear
management units, Banff National Park. A report prepared for Banff National
Park, Banff, Alberta.
Kansas, John and Chuck Newyar. 1998. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project: Habitat
mapping and evaluation component. Progress report 1994-1997. Prepared for
Alberta Conservation Association by ESGBP, University of Calgary.
POSTERS
Benn, Bryon. 1998. Spatial analysis of human-caused grizzly bear mortalities in the
Central Rockies Ecosystem, Canada. 11th. Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage.
Theberge, Jenny. 1998. Changes in habitat selection by female grizzly bears. 11th. Int.
Conf. Bear Res. and Manage.
WEBSITE
Most of the ESGBP publications plus considerable other related material can be found on this, the ESGBP website, and is available for downloading. Go to the Research Publications section.
POPULATION STUDIES
CAPTURE
There was no planned trapping effort in 1999 although 5 grizzly bears were captured during black bear trapping in the Bow Valley west of Banff (Table 1). Bear 65 was also recaptured on the Lake Louise ski hill and fitted with a radio collar instead of ear tag transmitters.
|
ID |
Sex |
Age Estimate |
Weight (kg) |
Area |
Comments |
|
63 |
F |
7a* |
86 |
Hillsdale |
Revelstoke bear |
|
64 |
F |
10a |
98 |
Sawback |
|
|
66 |
F |
4a |
78 |
Healy |
|
|
67 |
M |
3a |
86 |
Castle |
|
|
15 |
M |
11a |
170 |
Sawback |
recapture |
|
65 |
F |
5a |
n/a |
Lake Louise |
recapture |
* certainty code a= +/- 0 years, b= +/- 1-2 years, c= +/- 2-3 years
TELEMETRY DATA SET
Aerial and ground monitoring from early April until the first week of December produced 1553 point locations for the 1999 field season. Of these 387 (25%) were from the air and 1166 (75%) from ground monitoring. Aerial locations were biased toward early morning hours. Ground locations were biased towards where observers could travel easily.
Since the project began in May 1994 a total of 58 individuals have been handled (Table 2). Of those, 13 have died, 1 has been removed from the system, 18 are marked with ear tags but no radio collar, 1 is unknown, and 26 are radio collared. The sex/age breakdown of the current radio collared sample is as follows:
15 adult females 5 adult males
4 subadult females 2 subadult male
Table 2. Status of all grizzly bears captured in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, as of December 1999.
|
ID |
Sex |
Age at 1st capture |
Date 1st captured |
Current status |
No of radio relocations |
|
10 |
M |
13 a* |
05/07/94 |
unknown- drop collar 06/98 |
333 |
|
11 |
M |
4 b |
05/17/94 |
unknown – drop collar 07/97 |
48 |
|
12 |
M |
13 b |
05/19/94 |
dead – 10/04/94 |
14 |
|
13 |
M |
5 a |
05/25/94 |
active |
535 |
|
14 |
M |
9 a |
05/29/94 |
unknown- no signal 05/97 |
49 |
|
15 |
M |
6 a |
05/20/94 |
active |
351 |
|
16 |
M |
5 a |
08/16/93 |
removed to zoo 07/05/96 |
168 |
|
17 |
F |
10 a |
06/02/94 |
sighting 1999 – drop collar 07/96 |
104 |
|
18 |
F |
6 a |
05/30/94 |
active |
155 |
|
19 |
M |
6 b |
05/13/94 |
dead – 05/14/94 |
1 |
|
20 |
M |
11 a |
05/14/94 |
unknown – drop collar 08/94 |
8 |
|
21 |
M |
3 a |
05/21/94 |
dead – 07/26/95 |
3 |
|
22 |
M |
14 a |
05/21/94 |
dead – 05/28/94 |
2 |
|
23 |
M |
3 a |
05/28/94 |
dead – 08/08/96 |
75 |
|
24 |
F |
5 a |
05/31/94 |
active |
598 |
|
25 |
M |
6 a |
05/31/94 |
unknown – drop collar 09/94 |
15 |
|
26 |
F |
18 a |
06/08/94 |
dead – 09/21/99 |
486 |
|
27 |
F |
2 a |
06/13/94 |
sighting 1999 – no signal 04/96 |
36 |
|
28 |
F |
22 a |
06/08/94 |
dead – 08/24/96 |
71 |
|
29 |
M |
2 a |
06/13/94 |
unknown – never collared |
1 |
|
30 |
F |
9 a |
09/28/94 |
active |
1015 |
|
31 |
F |
7 c |
06/25/94 |
unknown – drop collar 05/96 |
120 |
|
ID |
Sex |
Age at 1st capture |
Date 1st captured |
Current status |
No of radio relocations |
|
32 |
F |
13 b |
06/04/94 |
unknown – drop collar 10/97 |
156 |
|
33 |
F |
19 a |
06/14/94 |
active |
293 |
|
34 |
M |
6a |
05/17/95 |
unknown – no signal 05/97 |
54 |
|
35 |
F |
4a |
05/17/96 |
dead – 09/20/97 |
187 |
|
36 |
F |
8a |
06/23/93 |
active |
260 |
|
37 |
F |
10 a |
06/27/94 |
active |
261 |
|
38 |
M |
1 a |
06/27/94 |
unknown – never collared |
8 |
|
39 |
F |
3a |
05/10/95 |
unknown – no signal 08/96 |
105 |
|
40 |
F |
15c |
05/15/95 |
active |
387 |
|
41 |
F |
12a |
05/28/95 |
active |
88 |
|
42 |
M |
7a |
05/30/95 |
active |
74 |
|
43 |
M |
5a |
05/24/96 |
dead – 10/10/96 |
11 |
|
44 |
M |
4a |
06/13/95 |
dead – 08/23/96 |
27 |
|
45 |
M |
1a |
06/15/95 |
active |
108 |
|
46 |
F |
11a |
06/15/95 |
active |
420 |
|
47 |
F |
9a |
06/02/96 |
active |
233 |
|
48 |
F |
2a |
06/02/96 |
unknown – no signal 09/97 |
14 |
|
49 |
M |
2a |
06/02/96 |
sighting 1999 – no signal 06/98 |
26 |
|
50 |
M |
4a |
06/17/96 |
unknown – no signal 06/96 |
2 |
|
51 |
M |
8a |
05/23/97 |
unknown – drop collar 06/98 |
31 |
|
52 |
M |
7b |
05/16/97 |
active |
42 |
|
53 |
M |
3a |
05/15/97 |
dead – 10/20/98 |
38 |
|
54 |
M |
15a |
06/03/97 |
active |
60 |
|
55 |
F |
6a |
06/07/97 |
unknown- drop collar 09/99 |
81 |
|
56 |
F |
3a |
05/28/97 |
active |
399 |
|
57 |
F |
5a |
05/17/97 |
active |
71 |
|
58 |
M |
9a |
06/08/97 |
dead – 09/23/97 |
5 |
|
59 |
F |
3a |
05/28/97 |
active |
281 |
|
60 |
F |
3a |
05/28/97 |
active |
338 |
|
61 |
F |
12a |
06/11/97 |
unknown – no signal 08/99 |
301 |
|
62 |
F |
8a |
06/12/97 |
active |
155 |
|
63 |
F |
7A |
06/08/99 |
active |
10 |
|
64 |
F |
10A |
06/03/99 |
active |
14 |
|
65 |
F |
4A |
05/15/98 |
active |
183 |
|
66 |
F |
4A |
06/13/99 |
active |
10 |
|
67 |
M |
3A |
06/13/99 |
active |
13 |
* certainty code a= +/- 0 years, b= +/- 1-2 years, c= +/- 2-3 years
POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS
Observations from the research team as well as records from Banff National Park, Kananaskis Country Rangers and Alberta Fish and Wildlife Services established a minimum unduplicated count of females with cubs for the years 1993 – 1999 (Table 3). Over time, a minimum count of sows with cubs can be established and used as a trend indicator (Knight et al. 1995).
Table 3. Unduplicated grizzly bear females with cubs of the year in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 through 1999.
|
Family Identification |
Most |
Location |
# of Sightings |
|
A |
1 |
Bryant |
2 |
|
B |
2 |
Fatigue |
1 |
|
C |
2 |
Moraine |
1 |
|
D |
2 |
Cascade |
1 |
|
E |
2 |
Elbow |
3 |
|
F |
2 |
Kananaskis |
4 |
|
A |
2 |
Lower |
1 |
|
B |
1 |
Moose |
2 |
|
C |
2 |
Mt. |
4 |
|
D |
1 |
Bryant |
2 |
|
Bear |
1 |
Upper |
2 |
|
Bear |
3 |
Baker |
5 |
|
Bear |
1 |
Upper |
2 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Pipestone |
1 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Kananaskis |
2 |
|
A |
2 |
West |
3 |
|
B |
2 |
Skogan |
3 |
|
C |
2 |
Upper |
3 |
|
Bear |
1 |
Cascade |
13 |
|
Bear |
3 |
Bryant |
10 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Nakiska |
6 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Highwood |
3 |
|
Bear |
3 |
Forty |
12 |
|
Bear |
3 |
Cascade |
14 |
|
A |
1 |
Cascade |
1 |
|
B |
3 |
Mid |
1 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Highwood |
25 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Upper |
8 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Elbow |
3 |
|
A |
2 |
Wind |
2 |
|
B |
3 |
Elbow |
2 |
|
Family Identification |
Most |
Location |
# Sightings |
|
A |
1 |
West |
2 |
|
B |
2 |
Palliser |
2 |
|
C |
1 |
Pipestone |
1 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Cascade |
4 |
|
Bear |
1 |
Simpson |
4 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Kananaskis |
3 |
|
Bear |
1 |
Cascade |
9 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Plateau |
6 |
|
Bear |
1 |
Bryant |
4 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Nakiska |
1 |
|
Bear |
2 |
Upper |
5 |
Reproductive success of radio collared females was determined through year to year visual observations between 1994 and 1999 (Table 4). Year to year cub survivorship can be tracked by referring to the table and comparing the number of cubs observed in a given year to the previous years observations. Reproductive data from collared females will eventually be used to construct an estimate of whether the sample population is increasing or decreasing.
There were no grizzly bear translocations out of the study area in 1999. Since 1993, there have been 6 translocations from the Bow River Watershed (Table 5).
Table 5. Summary of grizzly bear translocations in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 through 1999.
|
Bear Identification |
Date |
|
Sex |
Age |
|
From |
||||
|
AFWS #407801a |
09/04/93 |
Canmore-410b Owl |
M |
Subadult |
|
Research #23 |
10/21/94 |
Sundre-318 |
M |
3 |
|
B.C. GF75 |
09/26/95 |
Lake Louise Kinbasket |
F |
9 |
|
Research #50 |
06/17/96 |
Canmore-410 Highwood-404 |
M |
4 |
|
Research #16 |
07/05/96 |
Banff |
M |
8 |
|
AFWS# |
0729/97 |
PLPP-648 Nordegg |
M |
Subadult |
aOccurance number
bWildlife Management Unit
Table 4. Reproductive status of known female grizzly bears in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1999.
|
Female |
Location |
Age in |
Cubs In |
Age of First |
Interbreeding |
||||||
|
# |
99 |
94 |
95 |
96 |
97 |
98 |
99 |
2000 |
Parturition |
Interval |
|
|
17 |
Cascade River |
13+ |
0 |
1yoy |
1 |
off air |
2yoy |
2 |
3 |
||
|
18 |
Bryant Creek |
11 |
0 |
3yoy |
2 |
2 |
2* |
1yoy |
7 |
4 |
|
|
24 |
Highwood Pass |
10 |
0 |
0 |
2yoy |
2 |
2* |
0 |
7 |
3 |
|
|
26 |
Nakisa |
23+ |
2* |
2yoy |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2yoy |
0 |
4 |
|
|
27 |
Cascade River |
4+ |
0 |
0/off air |
2yoy |
2 |
7 |
||||
|
28 |
Cascade River |
24+ |
1yoy |
0 |
0/died |
||||||
|
30 |
Lake Louise |
14 |
3yoy |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3* |
0 |
6 |
||
|
31 |
Highwood River |
9+ |
0 |
2yoy |
off air |
||||||
|
32 |
Cascade River |
18 |
1* |
3yoy |
3 |
3* |
off air |
3 |
|||
|
33 |
Cascade River |
24 |
2* |
3yoy |
2 |
2* |
2yoy |
2 |
3 |
||
|
35 |
Evan Thomas |
5+ |
0 |
0 |
0/died |
||||||
|
36 |
Upper Bow River |
14 |
1yoy |
0 |
2yoy |
1 |
0 |
2yoy |
3 |
||
|
37 |
Sheep River |
15 |
1* |
0 |
2yoy |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|||
|
39 |
Kananaskis River |
4+ |
0 |
0/off air |
|||||||
|
40 |
Spray River |
19 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||||
|
41 |
Brewster Creek |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1yoy |
1 |
||||
|
46 |
Pipestone Creek |
15 |
2yoy |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2* |
7 |
||
|
47 |
Kananaskis Lakes |
12 |
2yoy |
2 |
2 |
2* |
2yoy |
2 |
7 |
4 |
|
|
48 |
Kananaskis Lakes |
5 |
0 |
0/off air |
|||||||
|
55 |
Cascade River |
8+ |
0 |
1yoy |
1 |
7 |
|||||
|
56 |
Lake Louise |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||||||
|
57 |
Cateract Creek |
7 |
0 |
2yoy |
2 |
6 |
|||||
|
59 |
Lake Louise |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||||||
|
60 |
Lake Louise |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||||||
|
61 |
Spray River |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||||||
|
62 |
Cascade River |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||||||
|
63 |
Yoho R. |
7 |
0 |
||||||||
|
64 |
Healy Creek |
10 |
0 |
||||||||
|
65 |
Pipestone River |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|||||||
|
66 |
Cascade River |
4 |
0 |
||||||||
|
# |
5 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
+ age at time of death or |
||||
|
* |
|||||||||||
There were 3 known mortalities within the study area in 1999 (Table 6). A subadult male was electrocuted in Kananaskis Country in September, a subadult female was shot by a Treaty Indian in Kananaskis Country in October, and adult female bear #26 was shot in an aggressive encounter also in Kananaskis Country. She had 2 young of the year cubs with her.
Table 6. Summary of grizzly bear mortalities in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 through 1999.
|
Bear Identification |
Date |
Location |
Sex |
Age |
Kill |
|
AFWS #21055a |
08/19/93 |
West Spray-408b |
M |
3 |
PWc |
|
Research #19 |
05/13/94 |
Kananaskis-648 |
M |
6 |
AC |
|
Research #22 |
05/28/94 |
Albert R.-B.C. |
M |
14 |
LH |
|
AFWS #25161 |
09/29/94 |
Fortress Mt-408 |
M |
subadult |
IL |
|
Research #12 |
10/04/94 |
Simpson R.-B.C. |
M |
13 |
SD |
|
Research #21 |
07/26/95 |
Elkford B.C. |
M |
4 |
PW |
|
AFWS #25722 |
08/20/95 |
Sarcee Reserve |
M |
unkn |
TI |
|
investigate |
fall/95 |
3 Point Cr.-406 |
? |
unkn |
IL |
|
BNP L952104 |
09/25/95 |
Lake Louise |
F |
adult |
PW |
|
BNP L952104 |
09/25/95 |
Lake Louise |
F |
yly |
PW |
|
C – 1995 |
10/12/95 |
Albert River |
F |
adult |
PW |
|
AFWS #34990 |
06/04/96 |
Morley |
M |
adult |
TI |
|
Research #44 |
08/23/96 |
Stoney Reserve |
M |
5 |
TI |
|
Research #28 |
08/24/96 |
Cascade River |
F |
24 |
NA |
|
Research #23 |
08/08/96 |
James River |
M |
5 |
PW |
|
Research #43 |
10/10/96 |
Grease Creek |
M |
5 |
IL |
|
BNP97-1567 |
fall 1996 |
Spray Lake |
? |
subadult |
? |
|
Research #35 |
09/20/97 |
Evan Thomas Cr. |
F |
5 |
TI |
|
Research #58 |
09/23/97 |
James River |
M |
9 |
PW |
|
BNP98- |
06/05/98 |
Bryant Cr. |
? |
subadult |
NA |
|
AFWS #36480 |
07/18/98 |
Kananaskis R |
F |
adult |
AC |
|
Research #53 |
10/20/98 |
Trap Cr. |
M |
4 |
IL |
|
AFWS # |
09/??/98 |
Pekisko Cr. |
M |
adult |
PW |
|
AFWS #17883 |
09/14/99 |
Kananaskis R |
M |
subadult |
AC |
|
Research # 26 |
09/21/99 |
Nakiska |
F |
23 |
SD |
|
AFWS # |
10/28/99 |
Highwood R |
F |
subadult |
TI |
a Registration or file number
b Wildlife Management Unit
c PW=problem wildlife, AC=accidental, LH=legal hunter, SD=self defense, NA=natural, TI=treaty Indian, IL=Illegal
A summary of the causes of mortality in the Bow River Watershed 1993 – 1999 is:
Problem Wildlife 8
Treaty Indian 5
Illegal 4
Accidental 3
Self Defense 2
Natural 2
Legal Hunting 1
Unknown 1
_____
N = 26
LITERATURE CITED
Gibeau, M. and S. Herrero. 1995. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project: 1994 Progress Report. University of Calgary, AB. 26 pp.
Knight, R.R., B.M. Blanchard, and L.L. Eberhardt. 1995. Appraising status of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population by counting females with cubs-of-the-year. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 23:245-248.
Komex Intl. 1995. Atlas of the Central Rockies Ecosystem. Komex Intl., Calgary, A.B.
PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
Woods, John. Research ecologist. Glacier/Revelstoke National Parks, Revelstoke, B.C.