Bears: Attacks and Responses

Black bearA black bear attack on a 12-year-old girl in Michigan made national news last week. However, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources press release says that a bear killed by DNR personnel shortly after the attack was not the bear in the attack. The bear was not killed because of any possible connection to the attack, but because it had been wounded by being shot by a home-owner who feared for his life.

The release says that DNA analysis shows that the bear that attacked the girl was female, while the bear that was killed was male.

Read the Michigan DNR press release here.
And if you haven’t seen the bear attack coverage, you can find some of it here.

NBC Nightly News notes that it was a busy week for bear attacks.

In Idaho, in a situation that closely echos the Michigan incident, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the shooting of a grizzly bear on private property to see if the bear is the same one that attacked two biologists earlier in the month, Reuters reports.

Read the Reuters story here.
Another Reuters story contains a single paragraph about the biologists, which is the most information I could find anywhere. Read the whole story in the Willmar, Minn. West Central Tribune:

Also on Thursday, Idaho wildlife officials reported that two biologists collecting grizzly habitat data in the eastern part of the state were knocked down by a charging grizzly after they startled it. Spray was used to scare off the bear, which bit one man on the backside and the other on the hands.

 

Photo: This is my generic black bear photo, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service. This bear has neither attacked a human nor been shot, to the best of my knowledge.

Troublesome Creatures

spotted owlEfforts around the country to remove troublesome creatures — whether invasive or otherwise — have been met with a variety of reactions. In all cases the creatures are being removed because they are harming an ecosystem.

No one seems to mind that California Fish and Wildlife Department is removing South African clawed frogs from Golden Gate Park. The frogs are not native to the area, they completely destroy the habitats they invade, and they carry a fungus that is deadly to native amphibians. Read about the recovery effort in Bay Nature.

In Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources would like there to be fewer invasive mute swans. Mute swans are aggressive and don’t allow the native trumpeter swans or loons to nest. (They also have it in for ducks and geese.) Plus, they eat so many wetland plants that they can destroy wetlands. Oiling eggs has been too costly and too slow, so the department will begin to kill mute swans. Michigan Live has published several articles on the subject.
Here’s Michigan Live on why.
Here’s the plan in one county.
And here the reaction to the plan in that county.

And then there are barred owls. They’ve long been identified as a threat to northern spotted owl recovery in the Pacific Northwest. Spotted owls rely on old-growth forests. Barred owls are not so picky, and have moved into the spotted owls’ turf as the habitat has become more variable, because the old-growth forests were cut. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to start killing barred owls to try to improve matters for the spotted owl. The Oregonian did two stories on the situation. This one several years ago. And this one now that the program has begun.
There’s been no shortage of news coverage. See a lot of it here.

Photo: Spotted owl, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

Michigan Confirms U.P. Mountain Lion Photos

cougar_mqt_county_nov_2012_404621_7Not sure how we missed this in our recent wild cat news round-up, but a Michigan Department of Natural Resources press release says:

Three recent trail camera photos of cougars in the Upper Peninsula have been verified by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Two of the photos, both of a cougar with a radio collar, were taken in October in Menominee County – one near Cedar River and one near Menominee just north of the Wisconsin border. The third photo was taken in northern Marquette County in November. The cougar in the Marquette County photo is not wearing a radio collar.

The DNR does not place radio collars on cougars; North Dakota and South Dakota are the nearest states where wildlife researchers have placed radio collars on cougars to track their movement. The DNR has not yet been able to determine the origin of the radio-collared cougar that is in Michigan.

Cougars are otherwise known as mountain lions, Puma concolor to scientists.

Read the Michigan DNR press release here.
Read the UpNorthLive.com report here.
And read The Mining Journal article here.

Photo: trail cam photo of a mountain lion courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Kirtland’s Warbler Numbers Up in Michigan

This year, researchers and volunteers in Michigan observed 2,063 singing Kirtland’s warbler males, up from 1,805 last year and the biggest single-year increase in the birds since 2007, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports.

These are the highest numbers ever for Kirtland’s warbler, a federally endangered bird, the release states. The warbler is endangered by habitat loss. It nests only in young jack pines, a habitat that only naturally occurs after periodic wild fires. Today the habitat is created through both prescribed burns and timber harvests with seeding. The birds range has expanded from Michigan’s lower peninsula, to its upper peninsula and into Wisconsin and Canada.

“We are witnessing a conservation success story,” said Michigan DNR endangered species coordinator Dan Kennedy in the release.

Read the Michigan DNR press release here.
Read more info on the species from the US Fish and Wildlife Service here.

In other songbird news:

While bark beetle outbreaks have been bad news for many throughout the West, they have been good news for mountain chickadees, at least at a local level for short periods around the time of the outbreak, says an article in the journal Ibis.

Because the birds are secondary cavity nesters, the study notes, the number of mountain chickadees in a location in a particular year ties most closely to the number of downy woodpeckers and red-breasted nuthatches the previous year.

You’ll need to pay or subscribe to read the whole paper. Find it here.

Photo: Kirtland’s warbler, courtesy Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Feds Announce State Wildlife Grants

Oregon vesper sparrow and Mazama pocket gopher; mountain plover, burrowing owl and McCown’s longspur; the palila, a rapidly-declining Hawaiian honeycreeper; Karner blue butterfly, grasshopper sparrow, Henslow’s sparrow, and northern harrier; and white-tailed, Gunnison’s, Utah, and black-tailed prairie dogs are among the non-game species to benefit from this round of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grants.

The competitive federal grants focus on large-scale, cooperative conservation projects for Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) that are included in State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plans (also known as State Wildlife Action Plans — what would government be without changing terminology?).

Seven projects will take place in 12 states: Washington (2), Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, Montana, Texas, Wyoming (and also British Columbia, Canada).

Read about the projects in the USFWS press release, here. Don’t bother to follow the link in the press release for more information about individual projects. It takes you to information about the grants that hasn’t been updated in years.

Photo: Black-tailed prairie dog, by Gary M. Stolz, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

 

Feds Announce State Wildlife Grants

Oregon vesper sparrow and Mazama pocket gopher; mountain plover, burrowing owl and McCown’s longspur; the palila, a rapidly-declining Hawaiian honeycreeper; Karner blue butterfly, grasshopper sparrow, Henslow’s sparrow, and northern harrier; and white-tailed, Gunnison’s, Utah, and black-tailed prairie dogs are among the non-game species to benefit from this round of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grants.

The competitive federal grants focus on large-scale, cooperative conservation projects for Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) that are included in State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plans (also known as State Wildlife Action Plans — what would government be without changing terminology?).

Seven projects will take place in 12 states: Washington (2), Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, Montana, Texas, Wyoming (and also British Columbia, Canada).

Read about the projects in the USFWS press release, here. Don’t bother to follow the link in the press release for more information about individual projects. It takes you to information about the grants that hasn’t been updated in years.

Photo: Black-tailed prairie dog, by Gary M. Stolz, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

 

Research Round-up

Earlier this summer, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife biologists banded 15 peregrine falcon chicks from five nests in western New York State. The birds are part of the growing peregrine population in the state.

Read the NYS DEC press release here.

The California Department of Fish and Game recently caught and captured 10 female deer as part of a study of habitat usage along I-280 in the San Francisco region. The information collected is part of an 18-month study that will allow scientists suggest ways to keep deer off the busy roadway.

Read the California DFG press release here.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that a recent sampling did not find Asian carp in western Lake Erie. A week of electrofishing and gill-netting did not turn up Asian carp. The survey was conducted because last summer, DNA samples revealed the presence of the invasive carp.

Read a press release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources here.

The Bend (Ore.) Bulletin reports that wildlife biologists will set out camera traps in the Cascade mountains hoping to catch a glimpse of wolverines, which are listed as threatened in the state.

Read the article in the Bend Bulletin here.

Photo: Wildlife Biologists process a sedated deer for the I-280 deer study courtesy of California Department of Fish and Game

Resident Mountain Lions in Michigan?

Mountain lion sightings have been confirmed 15 times in the last several years, the Detroit Free Press reports. The article says that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources believes that the mountain lions are just passing through and that there is no resident population in the state.

However, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, a non-profit organization, maintains that the sightings mean that there is a breeding population in the state. Google says that the organization’s site may be compromised, but a link to mountain lion info is front and center on its webpage. (“Cougars in Michigan: We proved they are here. Will you help protect them?”)

An article in the (Michigan) News Herald provides the details on the the group’s announcement. Read the News Herald article here.

Read the Detroit Free Press article here.

Photo: A generic mountain lion photo. Not a Michigan mountain lion.

Resident Mountain Lions in Michigan?

Mountain lion sightings have been confirmed 15 times in the last several years, the Detroit Free Press reports. The article says that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources believes that the mountain lions are just passing through and that there is no resident population in the state.

However, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, a non-profit organization, maintains that the sightings mean that there is a breeding population in the state. Google says that the organization’s site may be compromised, but a link to mountain lion info is front and center on its webpage. (“Cougars in Michigan: We proved they are here. Will you help protect them?”)

An article in the (Michigan) News Herald provides the details on the the group’s announcement. Read the News Herald article here.

Read the Detroit Free Press article here.

Photo: A generic mountain lion photo. Not a Michigan mountain lion.

Be Bear Aware in May

The California Department of Fish and Game sent out a press release reminding people to act responsibly in bear country, and offered tips for bear-proofing a camp site. The New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife is offering a free DVD of an hour-long documentary entitled “Living with New Jersey Black Bears.” Another press release was issued by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

May is “Be Bear Aware” Month. Other activities include Bear Awareness Week at the Detroit Zoo, which features polar bears and seems to be a little outside of the original theme for the month, which has a focus on safety.

The bear-themed month appears to be the brainchild of the Center for Wildlife Information. There was even a Congressional declaration about four years ago, proclaiming May as bear awareness month.

The state of Alaska declared its bear awareness week to be in April.

California Department of Fish and Game press release.
New Jersey Division of Fish & Game free bear DVD announcement.
Center for Wildlife Information’s Be Bear Aware info.
Detroit Daily Tribune story on the Detroit Zoo’s bear awareness week.
Connecticut DEEP press release.

Photo: Black bear, courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Game.