Bearing South
With a growing population and expanding range, Wisconsin black bears are on the move. CALS researchers are studying their path to figure out where they'll end up.
MacFarland says the model can help identify trouble spots where bears might interfere with human activities. He plans to incorporate locations where bears have caused agricultural damage to help flag areas where such problems are likely to occur in the future.
“Twenty years ago there were no bears in the central forest. Now there’s a strong, healthy population in the central forest, and we’re getting bears moving to the west,” MacFarland says. “That’s what we want to focus on: When can we expect populations of bears in Iowa County? Or should we?”
Even as MacFarland tests his model, Wisconsin bears seem to be confirming its validity. “We have bears pushing into Vernon County and Richland County, (and) a bear reported denning in Iowa County,” he points out.
Ultimately, MacFarland’s maps and Malcolm’s collars will provide wildlife managers with information about how a population of occasionally pesky animals is making its way across Wisconsin and into places where interactions with humans are inevitable.
But how many bears end up living in those places will not be up to the bears, points out the DNR’s Keith Warnke.
“It’s going to be determined by people,” he says. “Bear are dispersing into unoccupied but very suitable range. That’s where we need to work. We need to proactively think about how many bears are going to be tolerated there and about educating people about what it means to be living with bears.”
To Mike Gappa BS’70, a retired DNR wildlife biologist who now works with the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, it sounds a lot like the way things were in central Wisconsin a couple of decades ago, when wildlife managers felt sure no bears would take up residence south of Highway 64.
“The feeling back then was the animal will not exist in the central forest because people won’t tolerate the animal,” he recalls. “I always felt that the animal could exist here, and it pretty much depended on people’s attitudes. Bears are telling us by their presence that they can live with us. The question is, can we live with them?”
Tags: Human-wildlife interactions, Wildlife ecology
Posted in Environment, Main feature, On The Cover, Uncategorized, Winter 2008 | No Comments »