As outdoor recreation evolves, it is important to look at non-human animal and human interactions especially when it comes to animals that do not fear humans as much. A study in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada studied how often grizzly and black bears appear in trails and recreational areas. By analyzing trail cameras, Andrew Ladle, Robin Steenweg, Brenda Shepherd, and Mark S. Boyce came to some conclusions about how bear occurrence and recreational activity overlap. Black bears are not considered a species at risk in Canada, but grizzlies are. To recover their populations, Canada has created new zones that define where Alberta will recover grizzly bears and set thresholds for the concentration of public roads in management areas. Understanding interactions is essential for management. Grizzly and black bears are sympatric, which means that they occur in the same areas, and human activity influences how bears interact with prey, predators, diet, and habitat. Because they are both opportunistic omnivores with a similar distribution, naturally they compete for food. Black bears avoid grizzlies and although grizzlies pay less attention to black bears, where black bear populations are high, grizzly density is lower.
This study showed that activity patterns of these two species largely overlapped, but black bears were more active during the afternoon and grizzly bears showed less activity mid-afternoon. Grizzly bears were less likely to appear closer to roads and at higher elevations than black bears, so that could mean you’re more likely to see a black or grizzly bear depending on the altitude and your proximity to motorized activity. Black bears seem to be more tolerant of human activity and it could be why their populations aren’t suffering as much as grizzlies. Unfortunately, if grizzly bears avoid trails because of humans, they have less area to forage especially in the spring and summer when humans enjoy the weather.
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