American Black Bears (Ursus americanus)
in the Kenai Fjords National Park
Researchers
working with the National Park Service (NPS) are interested
in understanding characteristics of black bear (Ursus
americanus) habitat and how and when they use it. They
also want to understand the effects of human activities
on coastal resources in the Kenai Fjords National Park
(KEFJ), and what conflicts might arise between bears and
people.
Black bears are widely distributed
in forested areas from northern Mexico, the United States,
(except for Hawaii), and Canada. These animals are omnivorous,
eating both vegetation and meat. Bears eat things such
as insects, nuts, berries, acorns, grasses, roots, and
other vegetation. Occasionally they may also prey on small
land mammals, deer fawns and moose calves.
Research on black bears in
KEFJ is taking place in two known habitats: Aialik Bay,
where the majority of KEFJ park visitation occurs and
in Two-Arm Bay, about 30 km to the southwest where there
is little or no visitation. NPS researchers are also trying
to identify vegetation and understand when different types
of vegetation bloom or grow. This information is critical
in understanding when bears are most likely to frequent
particular habitats.
During the summer of 2000,
13 male and 4 female black bears were captured. The bears
were caught in traps and then given a sedative with a
jab stick, a syringe mounted at the end of a pole. Thirteen
bears (11 male, 2 female) were judged to be large enough
and measurements were taken which included length, sex,
number of teeth, paw size, head size, heart rate, and
coat health. Researchers also took samples of the bears'
hair for DNA (is this like an island population because
of the ice field acting as a barrier?), one pre-molar
tooth (like our wisdom teeth), and scat (droppings) to
look at diet changes through different seasons. Because
it can be very difficult to view black bears in their
forested surroundings, a remote monitoring system was
a necessity. Prior to the bears release they were fitted
with Global Positioning System collars. These collars
allow researchers to gather activity and movement data.
The collars were expected to remain on the bears for a
period of 21-83 days. Each collar had a remote release
mechanism as well as a low battery release. To date eight
of the thirteen collars have been recovered.
