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Wildlife Researchers Rethink Approach to Black Bear Management

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Creative Commons

The increase in conflicts between black bears and humans doesn’t necessarily mean the bruin population is growing.

That’s one finding of a six-year study of black bears by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The Denver Post reports the study, which is nearing completion, could change long-held beliefs and agency practices. The Post says biologists found that as Colorado’s human population swells, more bears are changing their behavior and learning to scrounge for food in residential areas when their traditional sources run scarce. But the number of bears may in fact be declining. The Post reports that researchers found the number of female black bears in the Durango area has plummeted by an estimated 60 percent since 2011 and the number of documented bear deaths from causes such as vehicles has risen statewide to about 2,000 annually. That’s up from about 600 a year two decades ago. But Colorado Parks and Wildlife has increased the number of hunting licenses it issues, a policy it may have to rethink. The report says the agency may also reconsider its policy of killing bears caught plundering human food sources such as garbage cans more than once. The Post says researchers found such bears do not become addicted to the easy meals and can switch back to eating nuts and berries when the supply is adequate.

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Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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