Black Bear Attack Association and Agency Risk Management
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Date
2019-05Author
Scharhag, Janel Marie
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Attacks by bears on humans have increased in the United States as both human
and bear populations have risen. To mitigate the risk of future attacks, it is prudent to
understand past attacks. Information and analyses are available regarding fatal attacks by
both black (Ursus americanus) and brown bears (U. arctos), and non-fatal attacks by
brown bears. No similar analyses on non-fatal black bear attacks are available. Our study
addressed this information gap by analyzing all agency-confirmed, non-fatal attacks by
black bears in the 48 conterminous United States from 2000-2017. Government agencies
across the country are responsible for species conservation, population management, and
conflict control. State, federal, and tribal agencies are required to make decisions that
communicate and mitigate the risk of an attack to the public. Agencies have been held
legally responsible for those decisions, consuming time and money in litigation. This had
led to a call for a more refined way to assess the risk of a bear attack with the creation of
a risk management model (RMM). We used an email survey targeted at bear managers
throughout the U.S. to 1) identify the primary challenges involved in mitigating the risk
of a bear attack, 2) understand their perceptions of managing risk, and 3) assess their
support for using an RMM. We further explored these objectives by using a focus group
of bear managers at the 5th International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop.
We identified 210 attacks by black bears on humans. Most (52%) were defensive,
15% were predatory, and 33% were of a new behavioral category we termed “other.” Of
defensive attacks, 85% were by female bears, and 91% of those females had young.
Ninety five percent of predatory attacks were by male bears, and 80% of other attacks
were by male bears. Sixty-four percent of incidents had an attractant present during the attack, and 74% had prior bear damage or a food reward reported in the area prior to the
attack. A classification tree model showed the highest proportion of severe attacks were
among a victim with a dog, who was female, and who fought back during an attack.
When compared with previous studies of fatal attacks by black bear, our results illustrate
clear differences between fatal and non-fatal attacks.
In the survey, managers identified human behavior and attractants as the biggest
challenge associated with attack risk management. Managers showed moderate support
for using a risk management model. Federal managers and less experienced managers
were more likely to support a model. Of the three proposed theoretical models
(quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) a qualitative model was preferred. The feedback
during the focus group supported these results and provided further clarification. These
results will help create a future RMM and have implications for risk assessment, attack
mitigation, and how we advise the public to respond to an attacking bear.