Oral Presentations: UC 331
Characteristics of Grizzly Bear Attacks on Humans: A review of grizzly bear and human interactions resulting in injury or fatality in the lower 48 states
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Grizzly bears have been a major topic in the U.S. this year with the overruling of their delisting from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Public concern and imminent management decisions require a clear understanding of human-bear conflicts. It is important to understand the factors of grizzly-caused human injuries and fatalities so that wildlife managers can mitigate public risk and better determine appropriate population sizes. This information will also be valuable in educating the public on situations that might increase the likelihood of grizzly bear conflict. At this time reports about grizzly attacks on humans in the lower 48 states are not compiled and there has been no recent analysis of the characteristics of these conflicts. I will review newspaper reports for information on grizzly bear attacks on humans in the lower 48 states, specifically Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. I will use a combination of online newspaper databases and indexed periodicals to collect data back to 1975. I will also contact government agencies in the study area to gather further information. Each humanbear conflict will be categorized as having one of four encounter outcomes; attack (injury), attack (mortality), bear deterred or bear mortality. I will also gather information on variables surrounding the attack, like habitat type, time of day and human group size. To analyze these data, I will first summarize data with simple frequencies and proportions. I will use linear regression analysis to investigate change in number of attacks overtime compared to change in human and grizzly populations. Then I will complete a logistic regression analysis to assess the importance of covariates in explaining the difference in attack outcomes.
Category
Life Sciences
Characteristics of Grizzly Bear Attacks on Humans: A review of grizzly bear and human interactions resulting in injury or fatality in the lower 48 states
UC 331
Grizzly bears have been a major topic in the U.S. this year with the overruling of their delisting from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Public concern and imminent management decisions require a clear understanding of human-bear conflicts. It is important to understand the factors of grizzly-caused human injuries and fatalities so that wildlife managers can mitigate public risk and better determine appropriate population sizes. This information will also be valuable in educating the public on situations that might increase the likelihood of grizzly bear conflict. At this time reports about grizzly attacks on humans in the lower 48 states are not compiled and there has been no recent analysis of the characteristics of these conflicts. I will review newspaper reports for information on grizzly bear attacks on humans in the lower 48 states, specifically Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. I will use a combination of online newspaper databases and indexed periodicals to collect data back to 1975. I will also contact government agencies in the study area to gather further information. Each humanbear conflict will be categorized as having one of four encounter outcomes; attack (injury), attack (mortality), bear deterred or bear mortality. I will also gather information on variables surrounding the attack, like habitat type, time of day and human group size. To analyze these data, I will first summarize data with simple frequencies and proportions. I will use linear regression analysis to investigate change in number of attacks overtime compared to change in human and grizzly populations. Then I will complete a logistic regression analysis to assess the importance of covariates in explaining the difference in attack outcomes.