Summary
Researchers from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, conducted a camera trap study to understand the habitat use of black bears along a gradient of human disturbance from urban to wild areas. The black bears changed their behavior in response to human presence, demonstrated by an increase in nocturnal activity in human spaces. However, the bears were also observed increasing their use of high human-bear conflict areas in autumn, perhaps due to increased appetite with winter approaching. Black bears preferred coniferous forests for shelter and food sources during the winter and spring seasons, possibly to avoid human interaction and minimize conflict. A strength of the study is the use of camera traps, a non-invasive and effective tool for monitoring bears with minimal human influence on their behavior. A limitation of the study was the limited behavioral data on the bears; additional information such as habituation levels for individual bears and the age/sex of bears could provide direct insight into bear responses to human disturbance. The results of the study can identify specific locations where a human-bear conflict is most likely to occur, enabling targeted management and mitigation efforts.
The urban-wildland interface is expanding and increasing the risk of human-wildlife conflict. Some wildlife species adapt to or avoid living near people, while others select for anthropogenic resources and are thus more prone to conflict. To promote human-wildlife coexistence, wildlife and land managers need to understand how conflict relates to habitat and resource use in the urban-wildland interface. We investigated black bear (Ursus americanus) habitat use across a gradient of human disturbance in a North American hotspot of human-black bear conflict. We used camera traps to monitor bear activity from July 2018 to July 2019, and compared bear habitat use to environmental and anthropogenic variables and spatiotemporal probabilities of conflict. Bears predominantly used areas of high vegetation productivity and increased their nocturnality near people. Still, bears used more high-conflict areas in summer and autumn, specifically rural lands with ripe crops. Our results suggest that bears are generally modifying their behaviours in the urban-wildland interface through spatial and temporal avoidance of humans, which may facilitate coexistence. However, conflict still occurs, especially in autumn when hyperphagia and peak crop availability attract bears to abundant rural food resources. To improve conflict mitigation practices, we recommend targeting seasonal rural attractants with pre-emptive fruit picking, bear-proof compost containment, and other forms of behavioural deterrence. By combining camera-trap monitoring of a large carnivore along an anthropogenic gradient with conflict mapping, we provide a framework for evidence-based improvements in human-wildlife coexistence.