Factors that Determine Human Acceptance of Black Bears

After being extirpated from their historical distribution, black bears (Ursus americanus) have recolonized eastern Oklahoma, USA. As bears continue to establish populations in the region, understanding the cognitive factors that influence human acceptance of black bears will play an important role in facilitating coexistence. We hypothesized that a variety of variables drawing from the cognitive hierarchy and risk perception frameworks would affect human acceptance of black bears in eastern Oklahoma. We collected data using a mail-back questionnaire administered to residents of eastern Oklahoma between August and November 2018. Perceptions of the current black bear population size, attitudes toward bears, valuing Oklahoma wildlife, behavioral intentions, and level of formal education all positively influenced acceptance of bears. Risk-averse respondents and women were less accepting. Outreach to women and encouraging residents to reduce conflict by adopting bear-safe behaviors may help raise acceptance capacity for black bears. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

Safe space in the woods: Mechanistic spatial models for predicting risks of human–bear conflicts in India

Human–wildlife interactions can have negative consequences when they involve large carnivores. Spatial risk modelling could serve as a useful management approach for predicting and pre-emptively mitigating negative interactions. We present a mechanistic modelling framework and examine interactions between humans and sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) in a multi-use forest landscape of central India. We first assessed patterns and determinants of bear distribution across the landscape using indirect sign surveys. At the same spatial scale, we then estimated spatial probabilities of bear attacks on people using information from 675 interviews with local residents, incorporating estimates of distribution probabilities from the previous step. We found the average occupancy probability across 128 grid-cells to be 0.77 (SE = 0.03). Bear occupancy was influenced by terrain ruggedness, forest composition and configuration, vegetation productivity and size of human settlements. The average probability of a bear attack in any given grid-cell was 0.61 (SE = 0.03), mostly determined by bear occurrence patterns, forest cover, terrain ruggedness, and size of human settlements. Using spatial information on people's dependence on forest resources, we identified locations with the highest risk of bear attacks. Our study demonstrates that human attacks by bears—generally believed to be random or incidental—in fact showed deterministic patterns. Our framework can be applied to other scenarios involving human–wildlife conflicts. Based on our findings, we propose that a proactive co-management approach which involves collaboration between wildlife managers and local residents could help better manage human–bear conflicts in central India and elsewhere across the species' range.     

Bear deterrence with scare devices,a non-lethal tool in the use-of-force continuum

Wild animals eating agricultural products and coming close to people's residences are primary causes of human–wildlife conflict worldwide. When carnivores eat anthropogenic foods and cause human safety concerns, it often results in the removal of the animals and public demand for reduced wildlife populations. The use of remote methods, such as scare devices, to deter carnivores has been touted in the literature; however, efficacy evidence remains thin. I test the efficacy of a widely available motion-activated solar alarm lamp to deter grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) from farms in Montana, USA. When scare devices were activated, there was a 46% reduction in the odds bears would access an attractant. For every additional scare device, there was an additional 44% reduction in the odds of a bear getting the food. Additionally, scare devices caused bears to be more vigilant and increase movement behavior. More bears in a group led to loss of deterrence efficacy, and there was no evidence for habituation to the aversive stimuli. This deterrence method was most effective in August and for fungicide-treated wheat. Out of 21 farms, scare devices stopped bears from returning to 11 sites. Overall, scare devices can be a cheap and easy first step to preventing, or resolving, some grizzly bear issues in the use-of-force continuum, which hierarchically organizes conflict responses from non-lethal to more severe.     

Lead exposure in large carnivores in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem

Ingestion of lead rifle bullet fragments found in discarded hunter-harvested ungulate gut piles negatively affects avian wildlife. Some large carnivores, such as grizzly bears, are also known to target these gut piles as a food source and are therefore potentially at risk of lead exposure. We investigated whether large carnivores in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem were exposed to lead, and if so, if ammunition ingested from gut piles was an apparent source of exposure. Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos, n = 82) exhibited higher blood lead levels (median = 4.4 µg/dL, range 1.1–18.6 µg/dL) than black bears (Ursus americanus, n = 35, median = 1.6, range 0.5–6.9 µg/dL), but blood lead levels did not increase during the autumn hunting season when potentially lead-tainted gut piles are available. Wolves (Canis lupus, n = 21) and cougars (Puma concolor, n = 8) showed lead concentrations near or below the minimum level of detection in both blood and tissue samples. Unlike findings in previous studies on avian scavengers, we did not find lead ammunition fragments to be a widespread source of lead exposure in large carnivores. Grizzly bears do, however, exhibit blood lead levels that are higher than what is considered safe in humans, but the source of this exposure remains unknown. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Factors influencing the social acceptability of large carnivore behaviours

A survey on attitudes toward large carnivores was conducted in a representative sample of the Norwegian population (n = 3134). People were asked about the acceptability of carnivores living in remote wilderness, close to where people live, killing livestock, killing pets, or threatening humans. Large differences in acceptability appeared across the five situations. Wolves and bears were less acceptable than lynx and wolverines when observed close to where people live. Negative associations were found between acceptability and lack of personal control, economic loss, and respondents' age. Acceptability was higher among males than among females, and higher among urban than among rural residents. The results showed that general measures of attitudes alone toward large carnivores were of limited value in wildlife management. The situational and social specificity of these attitudes should be given more attention.     

Collective Factors Reinforce Individual Contributions to Human-Wildlife Coexistence

Conserving large carnivores while keeping people safe depends on finding means for peaceful coexistence. Although large carnivore populations are generally declining globally, some populations are increasing, causing greater overlap with humans and increasing potential for conflict. One method of reducing conflict with large carnivores is to secure attractants like garbage and livestock. This method is effective when implemented; however, implementation requires a change in human behavior. Human-wildlife interaction is a public good collective action problem where solutions require contributions from many and individual actions have effects on others. We used the collective interest model to investigate how individual and collective factors work in concert to influence landowner attractant securing behavior in Montana, USA, in black (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bear (U. arctos) range. We used data from a mail-back survey to develop logistic regression models testing the relative effects of collective and individual factors on landowners' attractant securing behaviors. The most important factor was whether individuals had spoken to a wildlife professional, a reflection of social coordination and pressure. Other collective factors (e.g., social norms [i.e., expectations and behaviors of peers] and the existence of discussion networks [i.e., how much social influence an individual has]) were equally important as individual factors (e.g., beliefs, age, gender) for influencing attractant securing behavior among Montana landowners. This research suggests pathways for wildlife managers and outreach coordinators to increase attractant securing behavior by emphasizing collective factors, such as social norms, rather than appealing exclusively to individual factors, such as risk perception of large carnivores. Furthermore, wildlife agencies would be justified in increasing their efforts to connect with landowners in person and to connect with members of the public who play an important role in discussion networks. This research demonstrates that, even on private lands, collective interests may be a missing and important piece of the puzzle for encouraging voluntary attractant securing behavior and improving wildlife-human coexistence. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

Eavesdropping in solitary large carnivores: Black bears advance and vocalize toward cougar playbacks

Large carnivore behavioral responses to the cues of their competitors are rarely observed, but may mediate competition between these top predators. Playback experiments, currently limited to interactions involving group‐living large carnivores, demonstrate that attending to cues indicative of the immediate presence of heterospecific competitors plays a substantial role in influencing competition among these species. Group‐living species vocalize regularly to signal to one another, and competitors can readily “eavesdrop” on these acoustic cues. Solitary large carnivores also vocalize to conspecifics, but much less frequently, reducing the ease with which heterospecific competitors can eavesdrop. Eavesdropping could nonetheless play a substantive role in mediating competition among solitary large carnivores if the benefits of responding to the acoustic cues of heterospecific competitors (reducing risk or locating resources) are sufficiently large. Behavioral interactions between solitary large carnivore species are almost never observed, and there have been no experimental tests of their reactions to cues indicative of the immediate presence of other solitary large carnivores. We used an automated playback system to test the responses of a solitary large carnivore (black bear, Ursus americanus) to vocalizations of their similarly solitary competitor (cougar, Puma concolor), presenting both cougar and control vocalizations to free‐living bears foraging along shorelines in British Columbia, Canada. Both mothers with cubs and solitary bears were significantly more likely to advance and vocalize toward cougar than control playbacks, mothers producing one or both of two distinct vocalizations and solitary bears producing just one. Cougars could either represent a potential risk to bears (particularly cubs), or a source of resources, as bears are known to regularly scavenge cougar kills. Our results are consistent with bears eavesdropping on cougars for both these reasons. As with group‐living species, eavesdropping may be common among solitary large carnivores, and may be an important driver of competition between these species.     

Mass Media Effect on the Operating Environment of a Wildlife-Related Risk-Communication Campaign

ABSTRACT Managers and other stakeholders may rely on wildlife-related risk communication campaigns to prevent or reduce risks associated with human-wildlife conflict. The operating environment or the sphere of activity within which a campaign functions can influence a campaign's ability to achieve outcomes. Between 1 May 2005 and 30 October 2005, we studied human-black bear conflict in southeastern New York and the wildlife-related risk communication campaign, the New York NeighBEARhood Watch (NYNW). Based on the social amplification of risk framework, our goal was to determine whether mass media affected the operating environment of the campaign, and if so, identify the magnitude and direction of the effect. We used a self-administered mail survey (N = 2,800) in 4 southeastern New York, USA, towns to collect data about residents’ perceived black bear-related risks, bear-related behavior, and exposure to the NYNW. We also conducted a content analysis of mass media coverage about black bears. Exposure to the NYNW from newspapers was positively correlated (R = 0.39, P < 0.01) with respondents’ decreased acceptance of black bear-related risks. Our results showed a small social amplification of risk associated with black bears from exposure to mass media, specifically newspapers. Mass media can influence the operating environment of a wildlife-related risk communication campaign, including through amplification of risk perception. Characterizing the operating environment of campaigns is key to HWC-intervention planning, evaluation, and policy. Wildlife practitioners can consider media effects, as well as other biological and social factors, as potential influences on a campaign's operating environment and be aware that interaction effects may occur.     

Analysis of Determining Factors of the Public's Risk Acceptance Level in China

This work will characterize risk acceptance in China, based on the psychometric paradigm, and explore the determining factors that influence the risk acceptable level to the Chinese public. For this purpose, a survey was conducted including 12 hazards, 10 risk attributes (including risk acceptance), and demographic variables. First, the research attempted to explore Nanjing citizens’ average risk acceptable level for 12 hazards in China. Second, intercorrelation analysis and factor analysis of nine risk attributes were performed to obtain the suitable risk perception factors as independent variables. Three risk perception models of acceptance were constructed, which were named “Environmental risk model,” “Daily risk model,” and “Technical risk model,” that explained 59.0–69.6% of variance separately. In general, the variables of Knowledge, Benefit, and Trust were found to be significant in all models, implying that these variables are the main determining factors. However, in the environmental risk model, the variable of effect was also significant, which means the determining factors would change for different types of hazards. These results could help the Chinese government to improve the communication of risks with the public and make effective mitigation policies to improve people's rational judgment on the acceptability of risks.     

Residents’ support for wolf and bear conservation: the moderating influence of knowledge

This article examines the combined influence of cognitions (i.e., impact beliefs) and affect (i.e., feelings) on normative beliefs (i.e., support for management options) about wolves and brown bears. Data were obtained from stratified random face-to-face interviews (n = 1,611). The survey was conducted in the Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park (central Italy), where people have a long history of coexistence with large carnivores. Knowledge was hypothesized to moderate the relationships of beliefs and feelings on support for management actions. Path analyses supported the role of affect in mediating perceived impact beliefs and support for the protection of large carnivores. Knowledge moderated these relationships in the case of wolves but not brown bears. Residents of the national park had more knowledge about bears than wolves, which might partly explain both the stronger effect that knowledge had on the affective component and its lack of a moderating effect on the bear model. Overall, our findings show the positive attitude of residents toward large carnivores and support the idea of affect being more important than cognition in predicting normative beliefs.     

Spatial variation in density of American black bears in northern Yellowstone National Park

The quality and availability of resources are known to influence spatial patterns of animal density. In Yellowstone National Park, relationships between the availability of resources and the distribution of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) have been explored but have yet to be examined in American black bears (Ursus americanus). We conducted non-invasive genetic sampling during 2017–2018 (mid-May to mid-July) and applied spatially explicit capture-recapture models to estimate density of black bears and examine associations with landscape features. In both years, density estimates were higher in forested vegetation communities, which provide food resources and thermal and security cover preferred by black bears, compared with non-forested areas. In 2017, density also varied by sex, with female densities being higher than males. Based on our estimates, the northern range of Yellowstone National Park supports one of the highest densities of black bears (20 black bears/100 km²) in the northern Rocky Mountains (6–12 black bears/100 km² in other regions). Given these high densities, black bears could influence other wildlife populations more than previously thought, such as through displacement of sympatric predators from kills. Our study provides the first spatially explicit estimates of density for black bears within an ecosystem that contains the majority of North America's large mammal species. Our density estimates provide a baseline that can be used for future research and management decisions of black bears, including efforts to reduce human–bear conflicts.     

Rural and Urban Students’ Perceptions of and Attitudes toward Brown Bears in Turkey

Many studies have examined adults’ perceptions of and attitudes toward large carnivores to assess human–wildlife conflict and inform conservation strategies, but there have been few studies concerning children. I studied secondary school students’ perceptions of and attitudes toward brown bears (Ursus arctos) and other large mammals in Turkey via a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire, consisting of 18 questions, was completed by 215 rural and 98 urban secondary school students. Both sets of students liked bears; they were also afraid of them and unsure about living with them in the future. While there were no gender differences in attitudes and perceptions, there were marked differences between urban and rural students. Urban students had less contact with nature, gained more of their knowledge about bears from documentaries, and had less positive attitudes toward bears. They were also more likely to be afraid of species not present in Turkey, for example, anaconda, while rural students were most afraid of wild boars. Factor analysis identified three important themes: familiarity with bears, conservation of bears, and experiencing conflict with bears, which explained 49.8% of the variance in attitudes toward bears. The most important factor for the development of negative attitudes toward bears was personal experience of human–bear conflict, suggesting that measures to reduce human–bear conflict in rural areas may help to sustain students’ positive attitudes toward the conservation of bears.     

Perception of Human-Derived Risk Influences Choice at Top of the Food Chain

On human-used landscapes, animal behavior is a trade-off between maximizing fitness and minimizing human-derived risk. Understanding risk perception in wildlife can allow mitigation of anthropogenic risk, with benefits to long-term animal fitness. Areas where animals choose to rest should minimize risk from predators, which for large carnivores typically equate to humans. We hypothesize that high human activity leads to selection for habitat security, whereas low activity enables trading security for forage. We investigated selection of resting (bedding) sites by GPS radiocollared adult grizzly bears (n = 10) in a low density population on a multiple-use landscape in Canada. We compared security and foods at resting and random locations while accounting for land use, season, and time of day. On reclaimed mines with low human access, bears selected high horizontal cover far from trails, but did not avoid open (herbaceous) areas, resting primarily at night. In protected areas bears also bedded at night, in areas with berry shrubs and Hedysarum spp., with horizontal cover selected in the summer, during high human access. On public lands with substantial human recreation, bears bedded at day, selected resting sites with high horizontal cover in the summer and habitat edges, with bedding associated with herbaceous foods. These spatial and temporal patterns of selection suggest that bears perceive human-related risk differentially in relation to human activity level, season and time of day, and employ a security-food trade-off strategy. Although grizzly bears are presently not hunted in Alberta, their perceived risks associated with humans influence resting-site selection.     

Study on public acceptance of nuclear power plants: Evidence from China

Abstract

This empirical study evaluated the public acceptance of nuclear-power plants in China. A conceptual framework was proposed to explain the factors affecting nuclear-power acceptance based on antecedent variables, including social-media-use frequency, social-media information trust, nuclear-power knowledge, nuclear-accident knowledge, and risk-and-benefit perception. An empirical study was operated based on the Haiyang nuclear-power plant by conducting a face-to-face survey among residents who use social-media platforms near the plant. The frequency of social-media-use and the trust on social-media information promote individuals’ knowledge about nuclear power and nuclear accidents, leading to risk and benefit perception. Finally, benefit perception results in nuclear-power acceptance among the individuals. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Trophic Facilitation or Limitation? Comparative Effects of Pumas and Black Bears on the Scavenger Community

Scavenging is a widespread behaviour and an important process influencing food webs and ecological communities. Large carnivores facilitate the movement of energy across trophic levels through the scavenging and decomposition of their killed prey, but competition with large carnivores is also likely to constrain acquisition of carrion by scavengers. We used an experimental approach based on motion-triggered video cameras at black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) carcasses to measure the comparative influences of two large carnivores in the facilitation and limitation of carrion acquisition by scavengers. We found that pumas (Puma concolor) and black bears (Ursus americanus) had different effects on their ecological communities. Pumas, as a top-level predator, facilitated the consumption of carrion by scavengers, despite significantly reducing their observed sum feeding times (165.7 min±21.2 SE at puma kills 264.3 min±30.1 SE at control carcasses). In contrast, black bears, as the dominant scavenger in the system, limited consumption of carrion by scavengers as evidenced by the observed reduction of scavenger species richness recorded at carcasses where they were present (mean = 2.33±0.28 SE), compared to where they were absent (mean = 3.28±0.23 SE). Black bears also had large negative effects on scavenger sum feeding times (88.5 min±19.8 SE at carcasses where bears were present, 372.3 min±50.0 SE at carcasses where bears were absent). In addition, we found that pumas and black bears both increased the nestedness (a higher level of order among species present) of the scavenger community. Our results suggest that scavengers have species-specific adaptions to exploit carrion despite large carnivores, and that large carnivores influence the structure and composition of scavenger communities. The interactions between large carnivores and scavengers should be considered in future studies of food webs and ecological communities.     

Habitat Selection of a Large Carnivore along Human-Wildlife Boundaries in a Highly Modified Landscape

When large carnivores occupy peripheral human lands conflict with humans becomes inevitable, and the reduction of human-carnivore interactions must be the first consideration for those concerned with conflict mitigation. Studies designed to identify areas of high human-bear interaction are crucial for prioritizing management actions. Due to a surge in conflicts, against a background of social intolerance to wildlife and the prevalent use of lethal control throughout Japan, Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are now threatened by high rates of mortality. There is an urgent need to reduce the frequency of human-bear encounters if bear populations are to be conserved. To this end, we estimated the habitats that relate to human-bear interactions by sex and season using resource selection functions (RSF). Significant seasonal differences in selection for and avoidance of areas by bears were estimated by distance-effect models with interaction terms of land cover and sex. Human-bear boundaries were delineated on the basis of defined bear-habitat edges in order to identify areas that are in most need of proactive management strategies. Asiatic black bears selected habitats in close proximity to forest edges, forest roads, rivers, and red pine and riparian forests during the peak conflict season and this was correctly predicted in our human-bear boundary maps. Our findings demonstrated that bears selected abandoned forests and agricultural lands, indicating that it should be possible to reduce animal use near human lands by restoring season-specific habitat in relatively remote areas. Habitat-based conflict mitigation may therefore provide a practical means of creating adequate separation between humans and these large carnivores.     

Extirpation Risk of an Isolated Black Bear Population Under Different Management Scenarios

ABSTRACT Habitat loss and anthropogenic mortality are recognized as threats to populations of large carnivores worldwide, yet their relative importance to extinction risk has rarely been quantified. We used population viability analysis (PVA) to estimate extinction probability of an isolated population of black bears (Ursus americanus) on the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada under different management scenarios. We used random-effects analysis of variance to estimate components of variance in extinction risk explained by 4 management actions: 1) preventing habitat destruction, 2) reducing or eliminating incidental non-natural mortality, 3) reducing or eliminating harvest, and 4) reducing the fraction of reproducing females in the harvest. Habitat area reductions had the greatest effect on risk despite uncertainty in bear density. Incidental non-natural mortality had a greater effect than the rate or age and sex distribution of harvest. Quantifying the variation in outputs of PVA models associated with different management options is an improvement over qualitative comparisons of relative risk and enhances the applicability of PVA to management. This study highlights the importance of protecting habitats on adjacent private lands when reserves are too small to support populations of bears, and of protecting reproducing females from non-natural mortality—results that could aid managers of other large carnivores in focusing management efforts to ensure persistence of populations.     

Building tolerance for bears: A communications experiment

The present study examined the feasibility of experimentally manipulating perceptions of benefit and control via communications to increase public acceptance of bears. We assigned subjects to either a pseudo-control (basic bear biology message) or 1 of 3 treatments adding a benefits message, a perceived control message, or combining messages about both benefits and perceived control. Within-subjects pre–post t-tests showed a significant increase in acceptance among those in the benefits and combined treatments. A between-subjects 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant difference between the perceived control and combined treatments (where the perceived control message actually decreased acceptance). Our results highlight the importance of including information about benefits stemming from the presence of black bears, as adding this information tended to increase stakeholder acceptance of black bear populations. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.     

Risk Acceptance in the Furniture Sector: Analysis of Acceptance Level and Relevant Influence Factors

ABSTRACT

Risk acceptance has been broadly discussed in relation to hazardous risk activities and/or technologies. A better understanding of risk acceptance in occupational settings is also important; however, studies on this topic are scarce. It seems important to understand the level of risk that stakeholders consider sufficiently low, how stakeholders form their opinion about risk, and why they adopt a certain attitude toward risk. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine risk acceptance in regard to occupational accidents in furniture industries. The safety climate analysis was conducted through the application of the Safety Climate in Wood Industries questionnaire. Judgments about risk acceptance, trust, risk perception, benefit perception, emotions, and moral values were measured. Several models were tested to explain occupational risk acceptance. The results showed that the level of risk acceptance decreased as the risk level increased. High-risk and death scenarios were assessed as unacceptable. Risk perception, emotions, and trust had an important influence on risk acceptance. Safety climate was correlated with risk acceptance and other variables that influence risk acceptance. These results are important for the risk assessment process in terms of defining risk acceptance criteria and strategies to reduce risks.