The Bear Facts
Implications of Whitebark Pine
Loss for Yellowstone Grizzlies
Why Grizzlies Matter
www.larryeifert.com/ blog/New_Work
Principles for Recovery
•A precautionary approach for imperiled species
•The use of the best available science
•Decision-making that is transparent, open,
inclusive, democratic, and responsive to change
1800-1970
1850
1800
1970
1910
“Manifest Destiny”
Where the
Bears Are
Consumption of
whitebark pine seeds
The problem with whitebark
pine cones...
Consumption of
whitebark pine seeds
and why red squirrels are so
helpful...
Consumption of whitebark pine seeds
The search… audio cues
Consumption of
whitebark pine seeds
Over 97% of all pine seed
consumption involved excavation
of red squirrel middens.
Consumption of whitebark pine
seeds by males & females
Proportion of activity
0.4
0.3
0.2
Males
Females
0.1
0
Spring
Estrus
Early
Late
Hyperphagia
Season
Effect of Seed Crop Size on
Production of Cubs
Number of Cubs Per Year
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Following a
Good Crop
Following a
Poor Crop
Number of Management Trappings
A mirror image
25
20
15
10
5
0
Percent freq. in Sept.-Oct feces
Pine Seed Use
and
Human-Bear
Conflict
No. of manage. traps
30
77
79
81
83
85
87
89
91
93
95
93
95
Frequency of Pine Seed Use
100
80
60
40
20
0
77
79
81
83
85
87
Year
89
91
Death Rate of
Adult Females
Growth of the
Population
2
1.1
Population Growth Rate
Death Rate (1E-3)
+ 7%
1.5
1
0.5
0
Good
Crop
1.05
Poor
Crop
1
Good
Crop
0.95
Poor
Crop
0.9
- 5%
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/mammals/grizzlybear/Page-5.htm
With ESA
Protection
“Should whitebark pine decline
rapidly, we … would witness a
scenario similar to what occurred
when dumps were closed in
Yellowstone Park, … with a
substantial increase in measurable
bear mortality.”
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study
Team, 2006
The
Predictions
Come True
2008
48 Dead Bears
37 Human-caused
1999-2008
Known and
probable grizzly
mortalities from
human and
undetermined
causes
Interagency Grizzly
Bear Study Team
data
http://greatoutdoorstudios.com/about.php
The Current Situation
What are the bear managers doing?
http://www.inkcinct.com.au/Web/CARTOONS/2008/2008-621--why-the-Titanic-sank.gif
What to do Next
600-800 bears
Long-term
conservation of
bears:
Evolutionarily
Robust
Populations
Courtesy Troy Merrill, LTB Institute of Landscape Ecology
The ability to adapt to
environmental changes is
essential for the long-term
(thousands of years) survival
of grizzly bears. This ability
to adapt is their evolutionary
potential; the genetic and
behavioral diversity acquired
over millennia of evolution.
Maintaining evolutionary
potential requires the
exchange of genes and
‘culture’ among several
thousand individuals.
Ecoflight
Additional Special Thanks:
Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation
Earth Wise