5.1 Human Polar Bear Conflicts Working Group

Preparing for an Ice-Free Arctic:
Mitigating Human-Polar Bear
Conflicts
James Wilder, IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group
Range States’ Human-Polar Bear Conflict Working Group
Sea Ice Available = Fewer Human-Bear
Conflicts
Photo courtesy of Terry DeBruyn
The Arctic Ocean will be nearly Ice Free in
Summer by 2040, perhaps as soon as 2020
Current
2020s
(≈ 3.4 million km2)
(≈ 1.0 million km2)
Figures from Wang and Overland (2012)
Slide courtesy of T. Atwood, USGS
Human-Polar Bear Conflict Management is a
Priority Issue for the Range States (2009
Meeting in Tromso, Norway)
• Determine where and when, specifically, we can
expect to see increased conflicts resulting from
accelerating climate change.
• Recommend methods to minimize the risk of humanpolar bear conflicts in order to promote both human
safety and polar bear conservation.
2013 Range States Meeting, Moscow
• Affirmed that the Polar Bear-Human Information Management
Recognized the need for financial and staff support for this work,
System (PBHIMS) is the appropriate tool for cooperation among
and encouraged the timely dissemination of best practices for
the Range States for documenting human-bear conflicts, and
mitigating human-bear conflicts.
for the design of programs to reduce human-bear conflicts;
Why We Should Care
Main Objectives
Range States’ Human-Polar Bear
Conflicts Working Group
Range State Appointees:
• Canada- Daryll Hedman, Melissa
Gibbons, vacant (vice-B. Hansen)
• Greenland- Sofie Erbs-Maibing,
Heidi M. Hansen
• Norway- Dag Vongraven, vacant
• Russia- vacant, vacant
• U.S.- James Wilder, Todd Atwood,
Mike Pederson
Other Participants:
• Russia- A. Kochnev, M. Gavrilo, E.
Zdor
• Norway- M. Ekker
• U.S.- K. Dobelbower
• Canada- R. Vallender, P. Hale
• WWF- S. Klenzendorf
• PBI- G. York
Copenhagen, March 2015
Natural History Observations
•
•
•
•
•
Starvation
Drowning
Cannibalism
Disease
Hybrid bears
Ashley Cooper/Global Warming Images
PBHIMS
Facilitates
Adaptive
Management
Management Questions
Reported Nunavut DLPKs By Year (1971-2012)
and Community (2000-2012)
Figures courtesy of Bob
Hansen (Government of
Nunavut - Dept. of
Environment)
Reported U.S. Conflict Bear Kills by Village,
1999-2013, (n=163)
• Focus limited management resources/efforts.
• 4 villages and Cross Island account for 82% of reported
conflict kills for this period.
• Can prioritize even more by looking at per capita rates of
conflict kills.
Efficacy of Deterrents
• Electric fencing has been very successful (>90%) in protecting
igunaq (fermenting walrus meat) caches in Nunavut.
• Most caches not protected by the fencing have been lost to
bears.
• Camera monitoring shows that bears now travel right by
fences without testing them further.
Photo courtesy of Bob Hansen (Government of Nunavut Dept. of Environment)
Range-wide Attacks Overview
Country
Years
Canada
1961-2014
Greenland
1870-2010
Norway
1971-2011*
Russia
1893-2012**
United States 1881-1993
Attacks
38
4
10
13
6
71
Human Fatalities Human Injuries
6
37
1
3
5
10
6
7
3
3
21
60
*One probable, but unconfirmed, fatal attack occurred in the 1920s
**Not included in this analysis: 2 reported fatalities from 1595 ; 4
reported fatalities and 5 injuries in Soviet Arctic, 1930-1967
We also have data on 64 attempted attacks on people (i.e. the
bear was intent on attacking, but was killed or physically deterred prior to
injuring a person).
Bear-inflicted Human Fatalities,
1900-2014
Polar
Grizzly
Black
North America
7
86
64
Alaska
1
47
6
Norway Conflict Bear Kills by Group
Type, (n=59)
Management kills. Does
not include research
mortalities or bears that
were euthanized for
“humane” reasons
U.S. Conflict Bear Kills by Group Type, (n=229)
Location of U.S. Conflict Bear Kills,
(n=225)
Reason for Conflict Kills in U.S. Villages,
1999-2013 (n=74)
Body Condition of U.S. Conflict Bears Killed
in Villages, 1999-2013 (n=37)
62% were in below average body condition
U.S. Conflict Bear Kills in Villages by
Month, 1999-2013 (n=158)
Polar Bear Attacks on People by
Location Type, n=63
Attacks by Bears’ Body Condition (n=27)
63% of bears involved in attacks on humans were in below-average body
condition, meaning they were skinny or thin
70% of bears involved in fatal attacks on humans were in below-average
body condition
What Led to Attacks on People? (n=59)
*Includes predatory on human in tents and buildings (7),
and predatory investigations (2)
• 63% of polar bear attacks on people were predatory
Predatory Attacks by Bear Sex/Age
Class, n=35
Range-wide Attacks on People by
Decade, 1960-2013 (n=59)
U.S./Norway Natural Mortalities, 1989-2009
(n=46)
Investments and Progress to Date,
2009-2014
Strategic Partnerships- Agencies
Existing:
Near Future?
Your organization?
Strategic Partnerships- NGOs
Existing:
Future:
Your organization?
Accomplishments Since 2009
1. Created a science-based conflict database
2. Populated it with data from at least one priority subpopulation for
each country
3. Developed a Sharepoint site for information sharing and possible
future data sharing
4. Draft papers on polar bear attacks and the efficacy of bear spray
5. Face-to-face working group meetings- 2012 Churchill, 2013 Tromsø,
2015 Copenhagen
6. Compiling range-wide bear safety information
7. Developed techniques for use of electric fencing (Nunavut- Bob
Hansen)
8. Developed two and 10 year actions plan for addressing human-bear
conflicts at the circumpolar level for the CAP
9. Have engaged multiple partners (government, NGO, and private
industry) in support of this initiative
Challenges Impeding This Group’s
Work
1. Lack of dedicated resources from the Range States in
terms of funding and staff time to accomplish assigned
tasks
2. Lack of a mechanism to accept diverse funding sources
for this group’s work
3. Unfilled vacancies of Range State appointed delegates
to the working group
4. Getting travel approval to attend face-to-face meetings
5. Lack of data sharing agreement
Future Funding Needs For This
Initiative
1. Continue technical support for database
2. Produce consistent Range State bear safety
materials based on PBHIMS data
3. Publish peer-reviewed papers from PBHIMS
data
4. Travel to face to face meetings
5. Applied research- e.g., resurrect Churchill
research program from the 1980s
James Wilder, IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group
jamesmwilder@fs.fed.us
1-307-578-5158