EDMONTON, Alberta, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Though human development hosts a range of man-made treats for hungry bears, towns and suburbs are often a death trap.
For humans, an encounter with a bear might sound scary. But such encounters rarely result in human injury. Bears that make a habit of venturing into backyards and into urban development rarely make it out alive.
Surround pockets of urban development with ideal bear habitat and it's a recipe for a serious problem. Scientists call the combination an "ecological trap," and new research suggests there are a variety of especially deadly traps in British Columbia's Elk Valley.
Scientists believe bears understand the risk posed by humans. It's only natural to be wary of foreign habitat. But in the Elk Valley, the allure of resource-rich natural habitat masks the risk.
Related
Towns including Jaffray, Fernie, Elkford, and Sparwood are surrounded by lush forest, rich with high-energy fruits like huckleberries and buffaloberries.
Bears are drawn from miles in all directions.
"They're using evolutionary cues to search for areas with abundant food and less competition for space -- the Elk Valley satisfies that need," Clayton Lamb, a PhD candidate and biological scientist at the University of Alberta, said in a news release.
Lamb and his research partners recently detailed the risks such a juxtaposition poses to both humans and bears in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
"In the last eight years we've lost 40 per cent of our grizzly bears in that area -- that's not normal," said Lamb.
Nearly half of the bear fatalities were the result of car, truck and train collisions.
"Only one in roughly every three bears that die in that area is a result of hunting, so the bigger problem is really non-hunting sources," Lamb added. "It's a cumulative effect. It's not just one thing -- it's a perfect storm of bear mortality in that area."
Humans are at risk, too, Lamb says. Every year, there are a number of serious bear attacks in the region.
Lamb hopes his research will help improve future development plans, to minimize contact between bear and human populations.
