Biological Consequences of Relocating Grizzly Bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem

Abstract

Relocating grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) from human/bear conflict situations has been a standard management procedure. Using data from Yellowstone National Park, we present components of situations that may affect the outcome of a relocation. Survival rates of transported bears were lower (l x = 0.83) (P = 0.001) than those not transported (l x = 0.89). Survival was largely affected by whether the bear returned to the capture site (P = 0.029). Return rate was most affected by distance transported (P = 0.012) and age-sex group (P = 0.014). Return rates decreased at distances ≥75 km, and subadult females returned least (P = 0.050) often. Because of low survival and high return rates, transporting grizzly bears should be considered a final action to eliminate a conflict situation. However, transporting females must be considered a viable management technique because transports of some individuals have resulted in contributions to the population through successful reproduction.