Metabolism of the essential amino acid leucine was studied in 3 black bears (Ursus americanus) in February while the bears were denning and not eating or drinking and in May while they were eating and drinking normally. (U-4C) leucine was injected as a bolus intravenously, and timed samples of venous blood were obtained over an 8-day period. Total activity in plasma gradually increased in Febru...

Information regarding American black bear (Ursus americanus) mortality caused by disease is limited. Pneumonia is a common respiratory disease that affects many species of wildlife and can result in death. In February 2011, we investigated the death of a yearling male black bear and determined cause of death to be aspiration pneumonia. We found sections of lung were diffusely congested and edem...

Japanese black bears often break branches when climbing trees and feeding on fruit in canopies, thereby creating small canopy gaps. However, the role of black bear-created canopy gaps has not been evaluated in the context of multiple forest dynamics. Our hypothesis was that small canopy gaps created by black bears improve light conditions, which facilitates fruiting of adult fleshy-fruited plan...

There have been three mass outbreaks of human trichinellosis in Japan. The first was in 1974 in Iwasaki, Aomori Prefecture, involving a group of hunters who ate raw meat of a black bear they had shot. Of the 20 people who ate the bear meat raw, 15 showed clinical symptoms of trichinellosis. The second outbreak was experienced in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1980. The patients had eaten the raw meat of...

Species' distributions are influenced by a combination of landscape variables and biotic interactions with other species, including people. Grizzly bears and black bears are sympatric, competing omnivores that also share habitats with human recreationists. By adapting models for multi-species occupancy analysis, we analyzed trail camera data from 192 trail camera locations in and around Jasper ...

Wildlife crossing structures are one solution to mitigating the fragmentation of wildlife populations caused by roads, but their effectiveness in providing connectivity has only been superficially evaluated. Hundreds of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bear (Ursus americanus) passages through under and overpasses have been recorded in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. However, the ability o...

We present a comprehensive look at a sample of bear spray incidents that occurred in Alaska, USA, from 1985 to 2006. We analyzed 83 bear spray incidents involving brown bears (Ursus arctos; 61 cases, 74%), black bears (Ursus americanus; 20 cases, 24%), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus; 2 cases, 2%). Of the 72 cases where persons sprayed bears to defend themselves, 50 (69%) involved brown bears,...

The distribution and arrangement of habitats and human use areas are important to understanding where and why conflicts with wildlife occur; such data may inform proactive management activities to minimize conflicts. Black bear (Ursus americanus) abundance and the number of human-black bear conflicts are increasing in the northeast United States, particularly in developed areas. We applied a sp...