Influence of urban environments on black bear populations and foraging behaviour
Abstract
For most large carnivores, the impact of human development on their population is poorly understood. American black bears (Ursus americanus) use urban environments to forage, often resulting in negative human-bear interactions and management removal of conflict bears. There is a general consensus that available human food sources are the underlying cause of human-bear conflict, but the subtle patterns of how bears use urban resources and the impact that using these resources has on the population is poorly understood. My research focused on understanding how available human foods and management ...