Responses of brown bears to human activities at O'Malley River, Kodiak Island, Alaska
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Abstract
We classified levels of direct response of brown bears (Ursus arctos middendorffi) to aircraft, watercraft, and groups of people on the O'Malley River area of Kodiak Island, Alaska. General public use occurred on the area in 1991 and 1993, whereas structured bear viewing programs used the area in 1992 and 1994. Brown bears displayed high (running) or moderate (walking away) response on 18 (48%) occasions when fixed-wing aircraft flew over the animals <100 m above ground. Three of 4 helicopter flights <200 m overhead and 9 interactions with watercraft at ≤200 m distance also elicited strong response. Encounters between people and bears resulted in strong responses from bears more frequently (37%, n = 134) during years of general public use than in years of structured bear viewing (6%, n = 72, P < 0.0001). We suggest that higher levels of low or neutral response by bears to encounters with guided bear viewing groups was the result of consistent and predictable patterns of human activity.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Responses of brown bears to human activities at O'Malley River, Kodiak Island, Alaska |
| Series title | Ursus |
| Volume | 10 |
| Year Published | 1998 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | International Association for Bear Research and Management |
| Contributing office(s) | Alaska Science Center |
| Description | 5 p. |
| First page | 557 |
| Last page | 561 |
| Public Comments | This volume is titled "A selection of papers from the Tenth International Conference on Bear Research and Management, Fairbanks, Alaska, July 1995, and Mora, Sweden, September 1995." |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | Kodiak Island, O'Malley River |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |