The subpopulation is an intermediate level of organization that is ecologically meaningful for research and management. We used location data (n =  1,235) from 54 barren-ground grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) monitored from 1974–78 (n =  12) using VHF (very high frequency) telemetry and from 2001–06 (n =  42) using GPS (global positioning system) telemetry to delineate subpopulation structure in the Mackenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. We used Ward's cluster analysis to group bears into 4 subpopulations using their geographical position in 4 seasons. We used the fixed-kernel method to bound subpopulation areas and to estimate the relative probability of use by each subpopulation for each geographic information system (GIS) grid cell. The Delta is the starting point for the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. To demonstrate how subpopulation structure can be used to partition potential anthropogenic disturbance across the population, we estimated the mean probability of use of the projected pipeline route for each subpopulation from the initial development to 2027. Mean estimates of the probability of use suggested that the future pipeline development would occur disproportionately among subpopulations. Improved understanding of subpopulation structure facilitates research, monitoring, and management initiatives in response to changing land use.

Although the brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in Abruzzo (central Apennines, Italy) suffered high mortality during the past 30 years and is potentially at high risk of extinction, no formal estimate of its abundance has been attempted. In 2004, the Italian Forest Service and Abruzzo National Park applied DNA-based techniques to hair-snag samples from the Apennine bear population. Even though sampling and theoretical limitations prevented estimating population size from being the objective of these first applications, we extracted the most we could out of the 2004 data to produce the first estimate of population size. To overcome the limitations of the sampling strategies (systematic grid, opportunistic sampling at buckthorn [Rhamnus alpina] patches, incidental sampling during other field activities), we used a multiple data-source approach and Huggins closed models implemented in program MARK. To account for model uncertainty, we averaged plausible models using Akaike weights and estimated an unconditional population size of 43 bears (95% CI  =  35–67). We urge caution in interpreting these results because other expected but undefined sources of heterogeneity (i.e., gender) may have biased this estimate. The low capture probability obtained through the systematic grid prevented the use of this sampling technique as a stand-alone tool to estimate the Apennine bear population size. Therefore, further applications in this direction will require a substantial improvement of field procedures, the use of a multiple data-source approach, or both. In this perspective, we used Monte Carlo simulations to compare the relative performance of the 3 sampling approaches and discuss their feasibility to overcome the problem of small and sparse DNA data that often prevent reliable capture–mark–recapture applications in small bear populations.

International trade in bears and their parts is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) because of the negative effect of gallbladder trade on bear populations. Although a significant number of bear gallbladders seems to come from the roughly 2,000 individuals killed annually as game and nuisance of the 2 species of bears (Ursus thibetanus and U. arctos) in Japan, information about the trade and usage remains obscure due to the lack of a system to regulate trade in bear parts such as gallbladders and meat. Most Japanese bear populations are considered to be at a sufficient level to sustain hunting if well-managed; however, nuisance bear control kills are not properly conducted due to inadequate management systems and regulations. Governmental organizations have not participated directly in nuisance bear control but depend on private hunters in exchange for allowing them to keep bear parts from nuisance kills. However, it will become difficult to continue depending on private hunters due to their aging and the decline in their numbers. This situation will require a new nuisance bear management system. We outline a framework for a management system for the domestic trade in gall derived from wild bears in Japan. Such a system would use the profits from bear gall trade to partially cover the cost of bear management activities, including damage prevention.

The small and isolated population of brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) in the Central Apennines, Italy, has been protected since the establishment of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise in 1923, but little active management has been implemented during the past decades to ensure effective conservation of this population. Being almost exclusively distributed within the National Park and its immediate surrounding mountains, the Apennine brown bear population suffered high human-caused mortality in the last 3 decades, but no reliable estimates of its size, trends, and vital statistics have ever been produced. Given the paucity of information available at the international level, we have critically reviewed the status of the Apennine brown bear population and have summarized data and information concerning past management. By describing the threats that appear to be the most immediate (lack of reliable knowledge, small population size, persistent illegal killing, administrative fragmentation across the bear range), we comment on what might and might not have worked in previous conservation assessments of this population. Our final aim is to substantiate more effective conservation efforts in the immediate future. The challenge of saving the Apennine brown bear calls for a renewed effort based on sound, applied research, addressing issues from basic ecology to the human dimension.

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is the largest carnivore in Turkey and has been legally protected since 2003. However, increasing levels of conflict between brown bears and humans have been reported for several regions, especially for Artvin in northeastern Turkey. We documented the conflict in an attempt to understand human attitudes and responses and evaluate existing and potential damage prevention techniques. The study was conducted within landscapes at different scales, ranging from a core area defined by a large valley system to the whole of the Artvin Province. Data on close encounters, injuries, and damage caused were collected through government records, published literature, and open-ended interviews with the local people. On more than two-thirds of close encounters recorded, no harm occurred to bear or people. Bear attacks on humans were rare and only occasionally led to non-fatal injuries. Nevertheless, several bears were shot and killed in the study area during the study (2002–2005), apparently as a consequence of damage experienced by farmers. Interviews indicated a widespread belief that bears have become more of a problem. Bear damage was reported mostly in late summer for field crops and orchards and in spring for beehives. Precautions taken by villagers relied mostly on locally available technologies and varied in effectiveness against bears. We propose that introduction and implementation of modern techniques of exclusion such as portable electric fences around valuable resources (e.g. bee yards), improvements in bear awareness, and effective cooperation among various stakeholders would reduce human–bear conflict to acceptable levels in the region.

The Japanese black bear (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) is a forest-dwelling species and can be very difficult to observe directly in most of its habitats. Therefore, as a research tool to evaluate activity patterns and time budgets, we fitted GPS radiocollars with activity sensors on 4 Japanese black bears, 2 males and 2 females, during 2003–06 in the Ashio Mountains, which have open habitats. Through comparison to observations from a video camera with activity sensor values, we categorized activities as either resting (inactive) or feeding with short distance movements (active). Bears were mostly diurnal, although they were increasingly active at dusk. Mean time inactive was 66%, including considerable inactive time during daylight. Time active ranged from 22–48%, depending on the bear. For one adult female, diel active time during a year she was solitary declined significantly from the previous year in which she had nursed 2 yearlings. For one sub-adult male, diel active time decreased significantly with increasing age. Although more research is needed to relate activity values to age and sex in a variety of habitats, we conclude that GPS collars with a built-in activity sensor can be an effective research tool for clarifying the living habits of Japanese black bears. If future studies can further refine relationships between sensor values and activity categories, diel energy costs for Japanese black bears may also be estimated.

To reduce crop damage by Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus), we developed a method to identify individual bears that damaged corn crops based on microsatellite analysis using bear DNA obtained from damaged corn. During summer 2004 in Iwate prefecture, Japan, 99 corn-bite samples were collected, of which 30 (30%) yielded sufficient DNA for 6 complete microsatellite loci. We detected that at least 21 individuals (16 males, 1 female, and 4 of unknown sex) had damaged dent corn in 5 fields. Results enabled individual identification of bears from the samples, but more accurate analysis is needed. Moreover, the sex ratio of nuisance individuals was extremely biased to males compared to that of bears killed through control programs.

The small number of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in the world makes this the only species of bear classified as globally endangered on the IUCN red list. The latest rangewide population estimate was derived from scats (feces) found along transects throughout the geographic range of the species. Scats were differentiated into ∼1,600 individuals based on their geographical separation and the size of bamboo stem fragments contained within (reflective of bite-sizes). Recently, a team of researchers (Zhan et al. 2006) conducted genetic analysis of scats in a Chinese Nature Reserve (Wanglang). Their estimate of giant panda numbers there was double that obtained using the bite-size technique. Taking this to be representative of the entire range, they speculated that there could be 3,000 pandas in the wild. Many in the international conservation community heralded this as evidence that panda conservation is working well. Moreover, if the revised rangewide estimate is accepted as true, it could mandate the downlisting of pandas on the red list. We believe that such conclusions are unwarranted, or at least premature. First, the DNA-based estimate in the reserve may have been inflated by lack of geographic closure (which seems probable) and genotyping errors (which we found evidence of). Second, it was inappropriate to extrapolate results from this single point to the entire range of the species. The bite-size technique may substantially underestimate panda numbers in dense populations, such as in Wanglang Nature Reserve, where many nearby individuals likely have similar bite characteristics, whereas the technique may be more accurate in differentiating individuals in more sparsely populated areas. Although molecular-based population estimation is more rigorous than the bite-size method, too much uncertainty exists in the revised estimates to surmise either current population size or trend. We recommend (1) quantification of genotyping error rates for panda feces, (2) comparison of population estimates using bite-sizes and DNA derived from the same, short-term collection of scats, and (3) incorporation of both techniques in the next rangewide population estimate.

Remains of 22 American black bears (Ursus americanus) were excavated from 2 natural trap caves in Missouri during the late 1950s. Age, sex, and size characteristics based on analysis of ursid teeth from the caves corroborates wildlife studies that suggest that subadult to young-adult male bears are relatively vulnerable to accidental deaths in their search for food compared to members of other age–sex cohorts. This information is of interest to wildlife biologists given that North American bears and humans increasingly share habitat. Data on native Missouri black bears are also of general interest because little is known about this population, which was extirpated by the beginning of the twentieth century, and because a reintroduced population is expanding in the southern portion of the state.

We present the results of a 2007 survey for Andean bears (Tremarctos ornatus) at Serranía de Pirre, Panamá. We surveyed game trails using methodology developed by the Andean Bear Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society. We searched a total of 14 km along 3 trails and found 4 trees with claw marks resembling Andean bear activity signs. No other bear activity signs were found. The type and encounter rate of activity signs found at Serranía de Pirre indicate either a very sporadic and brief presence of Andean bears in the area or the absence of Andean bears and the misidentification of the claw marks as bear signs. We conclude that there is no resident population of Andean bears at the Serranía de Pirre and probably at the adjacent southernmost Serranía de Jingurudo. The only other mountain range biogeographically related with the Andes with reports of Andean bear presence in Panamá is the northernmost Serranía del Darién. Serranía del Darién should be surveyed to confirm the status of Andean bears in Panamá.

During spring 2004 an adult female brown bear (Ursus arctos) and her 3 cubs-of-the-year were observed outside their den on a south-facing low-alpine slope in central Norway. They remained near the den for 8–10 days and were, except for one day, observed daily by Totsås and other wardens of the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate. On 25 April, as the family was moving along the edge of a steep, treeless slope and down a snowdrift, the smallest cub, at the back of the group, was attacked by a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). The cub vocalized loudly as it was lifted off the ground and carried away. The eagle was still carrying the cub when it flew into cloud cover and was lost from view. Although no remains were found, it is probable that the eagle killed the cub. This paper describes the circumstances of the incident and relates it to other observations of attacks by eagles on young bears in Europe and North America.

Spondyloarthropathy has been reported among modern individuals of several species of ursid. Prehistoric cervical vertebra of black bear (Ursus americanus) recovered from an archaeological site in northwestern Oregon are fused and distorted, indicating spondyloarthropathy in this species has some time depth. Inventory of this disease among paleozoological remains may reveal unknown details of disease history.