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Post by brobear on Jul 18, 2022 8:14:31 GMT -5
What are the leading causes of bear deaths? Let's investigate.
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Post by brobear on Jul 18, 2022 8:16:16 GMT -5
Death of a Bear www.nps.gov/katm/blogs/death-of-a-bear.htm July 01, 2015 Posted by: Michael Fitz One year ago, bearcam favorite 130 Tundra was found dead at the cut bank along Brooks River. Her death provided another example that bears face significant risk in their daily lives. What causes the death of a bear? Wild bears are subjected to many risks during their lives. Starvation, spring time avalanches, illness, injury, and predation are just some of the reasons that bears may die. Outside the boundaries of Katmai National Park, bears can be hunted for sport and subsistence, and humans are significant cause of mortality for bears in many areas of the world. In contrast, Katmai National Park is one of the few places where the population of brown bears is naturally regulated. Dead bears are rarely found in the wild. Even in Katmai, a place with some of the highest densities of bears anywhere in the world, rangers and biologists rarely see a bear die or find dead bears. Still, the information gathered by biologists in the past that can help us glean some knowledge about the end of a bear’s life. During the past 36 years at Brooks River, only about 13 cases of bear deaths have been documented. Almost all of these deaths were caused by other bears. Most of the bears that died were subadult bears or cubs. One study on the Pacific coast of Katmai recorded 17 natural mortalities of female bears from 1989-1996. Eight of those 17 adult females were killed by other bears. One female apparently died of starvation and one died after being caught in a spring time avalanche. Six females died in the spring, six died in the summer, and four died in the fall. During that same study period, one adult male and subadult male were found dead and both appeared to have been killed by other bears. While brown bears can live more than 30 years, they commonly live to be 20 years old. Most bears, however, live short lives. While Katmai may have some of the highest densities of bears in the world, it also has one of the highest mortality rates for cubs. Two out of three cubs may not survive their first year. From 1989-1996, 99 cubs from 48 litters were tracked via different radio-collared females. 61 of those cubs were lost, including 11 mothers, indicating that the survival rate of females with cubs is lower than single females. This is a very low (0.342) survival rate for cubs, one of the lowest ever measured in North America. Katmai’s bears live in an unforgiving world, and it can be hard to watch an adult bear or cub die. As wild animals, they receive no veterinary care or preventative medicine. Bears have evolved to bear tough and resilient animals, but their lives do come to an end, sometimes peacefully and sometimes painfully.
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Post by brobear on Jul 18, 2022 8:17:14 GMT -5
In 2008, this adult male bear died in the Brooks River from unknown apparently natural causes (see bear #219 on page 79 of Bears of Brooks River ebook for more information). NPS/R. Wood.
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Post by brobear on Jul 18, 2022 8:18:16 GMT -5
This dead bear was found on the slopes of Mount Katolinat. In Katmai, one of the main natural causes of bear mortality is other bears. This bear was apparently fed upon by other bears, but the true cause of its death remains unknown. NPS photo.
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Post by Granolah on Jan 14, 2023 12:36:33 GMT -5
Brobear, is there a thread for brown bear mortality due to fighting? I can post some records that I got from Dinopethicus and my own research.
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Post by brobear on Jan 14, 2023 12:45:16 GMT -5
Brobear, is there a thread for brown bear mortality due to fighting? I can post some records that I got from Dinopethicus and my own research. You can either post them here or create a topic just for fighting deaths. Your choice.
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Post by brobear on Jan 24, 2023 14:35:41 GMT -5
Brobear, is there a thread for brown bear mortality due to fighting? I can post some records that I got from Dinopethicus and my own research. You can either post them here or create a topic just for fighting deaths. Your choice. Please post them right here. Most male brown bears who manage to survive to become an adult bear either die from a hunters' bullet, other human related cause, a bigger and stronger bear, or he dies in his Winter den of natural causes including freezing and starvation due to not gaining his needed fat or simply old age. I am very interested in what you discovered in your research.
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Post by Granolah on Jan 24, 2023 17:03:30 GMT -5
Here’s what I already posted: Here’s my collection of bear mortality due to fighting: This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from 1998 to 2018. Mortality cases were classified both caused by (i) "non-human intervention" or "human intervention" causes and based on (ii) "non-infectious" or "infectious" etiology. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Based on "non-human intervention" or "human intervention" causes, fourteen of the 21 (66.7%) brown bears died as a consequence of "non-human intervention" due to traumatic lesions (fights, unknown traumas or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia or mushroom poisoning. In contrast, seven (33.3%) brown bears died by "human intervention" due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling (during transit in an attempt to reintroduce a bear back into the wild) or strychnine poisoning. Based on "non-infectious" or "infectious" etiology, twelve of the 21 (57.1%) brown bears died due to "non-infectious" causes, namely traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, handling, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. The remaining nine (42.9%) animals died due to "infectious" diseases which included gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. In six of those cases traumatic lesions caused by non-human or human activities were complicated with bacterial infection (clostridiosis and septicemia) which finally caused the death of those animals. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32878324/Causes of mortality in brown bears (Ursus arctos) examined at the National Veterinary Institute, Sweden, in the years 1987-2001. ibb.co/KxjjN6fwww.researchgate.net/figure/Causes-of-mortality-in-brown-bears-Ursus-arctos-examined-at-the-National-Veterinary_tbl1_7652347Brown Bear fights are common, especially for larger males in mating, personal space and carry horrific scars. books.google.com/books?id=9BuvnaTkvK8C&pg=PT29&dq=brown+bears+are+common+fights&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijktO2krL1AhUTRTABHVswBV0Q6AF6BAgIEAMTwo bears found in Kodiak Island were killed and partially eaten by each other. (Holy sh!t). ibb.co/vXrm5v6books.google.com/books?id=widDNRl9rDoC&pg=PA31&dq=brown+bear+fight+ends+in+death&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJh_2Zk7L1AhX4RDABHRLkCNkQ6AF6BAgLEAMOld males often fight and have many scars. One bear fell of a cliff after a mating fight! ibb.co/vXrm5v6books.google.com/books?id=widDNRl9rDoC&pg=PA31&dq=brown+bear+fight+ends+in+death&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJh_2Zk7L1AhX4RDABHRLkCNkQ6AF6BAgLEAMA lot of fights, end in death. Even among juveniles and mature animals. ibb.co/vd5LZpSbooks.google.com/books?id=widDNRl9rDoC&pg=PA31&dq=brown+bear+fight+ends+in+death&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJh_2Zk7L1AhX4RDABHRLkCNkQ6AF6BAgLEAMOld Male Bear scratched with numerous wounds after fight with a younger male. ibb.co/RvFnzk7books.google.com/books?id=widDNRl9rDoC&pg=PA31&dq=brown+bear+fight+ends+in+death&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJh_2Zk7L1AhX4RDABHRLkCNkQ6AF6BAgLEAMSometimes , a fight ends in the death of one of the bears. More often , a bear will be injured. ibb.co/VQ271Mdbooks.google.com/books?id=HkEyCCps7pUC&pg=PA19&dq=brown+bear+fight+ends+in+death&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJh_2Zk7L1AhX4RDABHRLkCNkQ6AF6BAgHEAMI have a lot of them, but I don’t want to make long posts. Here’s a good one: From the study I posted earlier: During these catastrophic food years, bear conflicts were not easily solved by removing nuisance bears because nearly all bears were involved in conflicts. ibb.co/F5Kp1Y3Clearly brown bears have tons of fighting knowledge
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Post by brobear on Jan 24, 2023 17:51:24 GMT -5
Great post Granolah and thank you. A blast from the past, a great bear fan, Big Bonns once told Bold Champ that a typical full-grown male brown bear probably fights his own kind as often as a typical male African lion does. I personally believe he was correct.
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Post by Montezuma on Feb 18, 2023 9:22:46 GMT -5
From the book Bear of the north: A year inside their world by wildlife photographer and biologist Wayne lynch. Here is post his quotes regarding to bear fights/mortality/injuries. Pg. 366: Male bears should have good fighting skills "Greater movements such as these increase the likelihood that a female will intercept a potential mate, or multiple mates, and possibly pit rival males against each other so that the male with the best genetic quality, as measured by his age, body size, strength, and fighting skills, sires her offspring." Pg. 367-368: Male Brown bears, Polar bears and both Black bear species have serious fight with many wounds and scars."Reports of wounds, scars, fractured ribs, and broken canine teeth are widespread in male brown bears and polar bears as well as in both species of black bear. During the breeding season, I have seen male brown bears with injured front legs, broken lower jaws, and gaping facial lacerations. One spring I had a chance to closely examine an adult male polar bear during the breeding season. I wrote in my journal afterwards: The bear had a number of old scars on his nose and forehead, half of his right ear was missing, and the fourth claw on his left front paw was broken off at its base. There were two fresh puncture wounds on his left shoulder that were draining pus. The worst injury I ever saw was on a male brown bear along the McNeil River in Alaska in late May. The victim had a large flap of skin and muscle, 5 inches (12.7 cm) wide and about a foot (30 cm) long, running from the right side of its neck to its upper shoulder. The torn flap flopped up and down when the animal ran." Pg. 371: Male bears can fight up to 4mins, and due to numerous fights scars on head, neck and shoulders in common in old males"Elsewhere, rival male bears are not always so friendly. Lynn Rogers in Minnesota wrote: Encounters between mismatched males were settled by the larger ones simply chasing away the smaller, but when contestants were fairly even in size, clawing, biting battles with continuous contact up to 4 minutes were seen in some instances. Two fighting areas were examined, and both were characterized by clumps of fur and trampled, and broken vegetation. Because of fighting, old males had numerous scars on their head, neck, and shoulders." Pg. 372: Nine male bears fight for female "In the Yakutia region of eastern Russia, hunters have reported seeing up to nine male brown bears shadowing a single female, with fierce fights breaking out among the competitors." Pg. 397: Male bear kills and eats a mama bear in a ferocious fight in sweden"In another instance in Sweden, researchers reported a case in which an 11-year-old male brown bear killed a mother who was traveling with three young cubs. Examination of the site showed evidence of a ferocious fight. The body of the killed mother, partially eaten, was covered with moss. Two of her cubs were found alive in a nearby tree." Pg. 676: Researcher tells that how much aggressive brown bears are compared to black bears
"To protect her offspring, a brown bear mother has no option but to charge. She may bluff first, but when that fails, she fights. For the brown bear, aggressiveness was an essential trait for survival. The late mountain man and wilderness guide Andy Russell wrote that to compare the grizzly with his lesser cousin, the black bear, is like standing a case of dynamite beside a sack of goose feathers." Pg. 744: Fighting is an important skill a bear cub learns for survival"For bears, play activities are a way for a young animal to practice survival skills such as escaping, stalking, capturing, killing, and fighting." Pg. 772: Rogers judges from many wound marks that female bears also sometimes fight"Rogers did not witness any fights between neighboring females, but wounds on a number of them indicated that fights sometimes occur." www.amazon.ca/Bears-North-Inside-Their-Worlds/dp/1421439417?tag=vs-proboards_can-20
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Post by Montezuma on Mar 4, 2023 1:30:06 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Apr 7, 2023 3:58:11 GMT -5
One of the rare and best grizzly bear fighting compilations.
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Post by Montezuma on Apr 8, 2023 2:55:39 GMT -5
/\ Mark 6:18, "Most of the male bears own scars, thats why they are easier to be recognised than females."
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Post by brobear on Apr 8, 2023 3:18:25 GMT -5
/\ Mark 6:18, "Most of the male bears own scars, thats why they are easier to be recognised than females." Also, a young bear can be spotted due to his lack of battle scars.
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Post by Montezuma on Jun 10, 2023 17:31:15 GMT -5
A recently uploaded video shows 2 male brown bears engaged in a fierce fight.
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Post by Montezuma on Jun 10, 2023 17:39:55 GMT -5
Fierce brown bear fights from Animal Fight Club of National Geographic. Fights are over food, mate and territory respectively.
1) Two large male bears fight over a whale carcass.
2) Two male bears, Brutus and Ceaser fight over a female mating right.
3) Two male bears, the 'New comer' fights with 'Old Ben' for territory.
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Post by Montezuma on Jul 7, 2023 17:18:51 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Jul 7, 2023 17:27:31 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Jul 7, 2023 17:33:50 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Jul 10, 2023 23:56:47 GMT -5
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