2000 Annual Report

Gibeau, M. and Herrero, S. 2001. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project:
A Progress Report for 2000 (ESGBP): April 2001. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
Note: You can also download a PDF version of this report.
NEW FEATURE: Table of Contents links and Table links are activated in this file (HTML format).
Prepared for the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Steering Committee
This paper contains preliminary results of an on-going study and should not be cited
without permission from the authors.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
• STUDY AREA
• METHODS
• RESULTS

WEBSITE
POPULATION STUDIES
CAPTURE
TELEMETRY DATA SET
POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS

• SCHEDULED CONCLUSION
• LITERATURE CITED

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Grizzly bear capture data in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 2000
Table 2. Status of all grizzly bears captured in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, as of November 2000
Table 3. Unduplicated grizzly bear females with cubs of the year in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000
Table 4. Number of unduplicated females with cubs of the year (COY), and 6 year running averages in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000
Table 5. Reproductive status of known female grizzly bears in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 2000
Table 6. Summary of grizzly bear mortalities in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000. 9
Table 7. Summary of grizzly bear translocations in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000
Table 8. Summary of known grizzly bear mortalities and removals by jurisdiction and activity in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993-2000
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A very successful seventh field season would not have been possible without the dedication of field biologists C. Hague, B. McClarty and S. Stevens. Their efforts were augmented through the largely volunteer support of C. Campbell. Assistance in coordination of field staff was provided by A. Dibb, S. Donelon and T. Hurd. Trapping was conducted by the Banff National Park Warden Service and Alberta Natural Resources Service. Veterinary care was provided by Dr. Todd Shury. Several Alberta Conservation Officers and Banff National Park Wardens provided invaluable safety backup, field assistance and logistical support through all stages of monitoring. Exemplary flying skills were provided by Alpine Helicopters of Canmore and fixed wing pilot M. Dupuis and T. Kulbida of Wildlife Observation Air Services.
The Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Steering Committee helped implement and guided this research. All steering committee participants contribute either money, time or both toward the objectives. Through the Steering Committee, governments, industry, business and conservation groups work together to support this project. The supporters include:
Alberta Environment
Natural Resources Service (NRS)
Lands & Forest Service
Alberta Cattle Commission
Alberta Conservation Association
Alberta Energy Utilities Board Committee (EUB)
Alberta Off-Highway Vehicle Association
Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife Foundation
Alpine Helicopters
AMOCO Canada Petroleum Co. Ltd.
Anonymous Foundation donor
Bow Valley Naturalists
British Columbia Ministry of Environment
Wildlife Division
Calgary Area Outdoor Council (CAOC)
Calgary Zoo
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
Canadian Pacific Charitable Foundation
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)Calgary/Banff Chapter
Canmore Collegiate High School
Crown of the Continent Electronic Data Atlas
Eagle Terrace Developments
Elbow Valley Campgrounds
Friends of Banff
Friends of Kananaskis Country
Foothills Model Forest Grizzly Bear Project
Human Resources Development Canada
Husky Oil
Miistakis Institute
Mistaya Communications
Mountain Electronics
Mountain Equipment Co-op
National Science and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC)
Parks Canada
Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
Rigel Energy
Shell Canada LimitedSpray Lakes Sawmills (1980) Ltd.
Springbank Middle School
Switching Gear
Totem Outdoor Outfitters
Three Sisters Resorts
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
Faculty of Environmental Design
Resources & the Environment Program
Warner Guiding and Outfitting Ltd.
Wilburforce Foundation
Wilderness Medical Society
World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF)
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
During 2000 our research focused on gathering basic reproductive and mortality data for analysis of demographic parameters. Another important research question we focused on is how do grizzly bear’s spatial and temporal use patterns differ in areas of high human presence compared to areas with low human presence in a landscape, some of which is dominated by tourism activities? Our situation is unique in that no other grizzly bear study area in North America has both a high volume transcontentinal highway and railway dissecting occupied grizzly bear habitat along with intensive tourism. Analysis has never been done on the effects of such levels of human presence on grizzly bears. One important question is the extent to which the Bow River Valley continues to function as a major movement corridor for bears providing connectivity between habitats.
The overall goal of ESGBP research is to understand how developments and human-induced mortality impact grizzly bears. Specific research objectives include:
1. Determine the basic demographic parameters for the grizzly bear population within the study area.
2. Detect spatial and temporal activity patterns of bears given various levels of human influences.
3. Determine how the distribution of humans affects a bear’s ability to use the landscape.
4. Determine if population connectivity is being impeded by major transportation corridors.
5. Determine what adjustments to human activities would give bears better access to resources.
6. Suggest management alternatives for integrating land uses compatible with bear habitat and survival needs for the study area.
STUDY AREA
The area of interest remains unchanged from year 1 with the approximately 11,400 km2 Bow River Watershed, from its headwaters to approximately where it meets the prairies, as the core study area. The greater study area defined by the movement of radio-collared bears is about 22,000 km2 or roughly twice the size of the core study area. At the largest scale our research encompasses the 42,000 km2 Central Rockies Ecosystem (Komex International 1995).
METHODS
Methods for both the capture and monitoring of bears remain unchanged from the detailed description found in the year 1 progress report (Gibeau and Herrero 1995). Approximately 25 grizzly bears per year have active radio-collars. These bears are monitored from air and ground wherever they go and our budget permits. Aerial monitoring gives infrequent, but relatively unbiased data regarding location. This facilitates understanding of home range, movements and habitat use. Ground-based research allows intensive monitoring of grizzly bear activities related to development features such as towns, highways, campgrounds and trails. Mortality is monitored using both aerial and ground-based telemetry. The radio-telemetry monitoring area includes lands under several different jurisdictions. In the British Columbia portion of these lands, where some of our radio-collared grizzly bears are found, there is a Western Slopes Bear Research Project which provides complementary data and will allow a broader ecosystem versus provincial boundary-based understanding of grizzly bears in the Central Rockies Ecosystem.
RESULTS
WEBSITE
Most of the ESGBP publications plus considerable other related material can be found on this, the ESGBP website, and is available for downloading. Go to the Research Publications Section.
POPULATION STUDIES
CAPTURE
There was no planned trapping effort in 2000 although 4 grizzly bears were captured during management actions (Table 1).

ID	Sex	Age Estimate	Weight (kg)	Area	Comments
33	F	25a*	n/a	Two Jack	recapture
68	M	5a	n/a	Two Jack
69	F	3a	93	Nakiska
70	F	3a	79	Nakiska

* certainty code a= +/- 0 years, b= +/- 1-2 years, c= +/- 2-3 years
TELEMETRY DATA SET
Aerial and ground monitoring from early April until the first week of November produced 1641 point locations for the 2000 field season. Of these 439 (27 %) were from the air and 1202 (73%) from ground monitoring. Aerial locations were biased toward early morning hours. Ground locations were biased towards where observers could travel easily.
Since the project began in May 1994 a total of 61 individuals have been handled (Table 2). Of those, 15 have died, and 24 are currently radio collared. The sex/age breakdown of the current radio collared sample is as follows:
15 adult females 5 adult males
3 subadult females 1 subadult male
Table 2. Status of all grizzly bears captured in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, as of November 2000.

ID	Sex	Age class 1	Age at first capture 2	Months monitored	Fate	Cause 3	Most recent sighting 4
10	M	AD	13a	07/94 – 06/96 and 04/97 – 06/98	lost	drop collar
11	M	SA	4b	05/94 – 03/96
11		AD		03/96 – 07/97	lost	drop collar
12	M	AD	13b	05/94 – 10/94	dead	self defense
13	M	SA	5a	05/94 – 03/95
13		AD		03/95 – 10/00	active
14	M	AD	9a	05/95 – 05/97	lost	no signal – b
15	M	AD	6a	05/94 – 10/00	active
16	M	SA	5a	08/93 – 03/94
16		AD		03/94 – 07/96	dead	removed to zoo
17	F	AD	10a	06/94 – 07/96	lost	drop collar	10/99
18	F	AD	6a	05/94 – 10/00	active
19	M	AD	6b	05/94 – 05/94	dead	accidental
20	M	AD	11a	05/94 – 07/94	lost	drop collar
21	M	SA	3a	05/94 – 07/95	dead	problem wildlife
22	M	AD	14a	05/94 – 05/94	dead	legal hunting
23	M	SA	3a	05/94 – 08/96	dead	problem wildlife
24	F	SA	5a	05/94 – 03/95
24		AD		03/95 – 10/00	active
25	M	AD	6a	05/94 – 09/94	lost	drop collar	07/95
26	F	AD	18a	06/94 – 09/99	dead	self defense
27	F	SA	2a	06/94 – 09/95	lost	no signal – b	06/99
28	F	AD	22a	06/94 – 08/96	dead	natural
29	M	SA	2a	never collared
30	F	AD	9a	09/94 – 10/00	active
31	F	AD	7c	06/94 – 04/96	lost	drop collar
32	F	AD	13b	06/94 – 10/97	lost	drop collar
33	F	AD	19a	06/94 – 09/99 and 08/00 – 10/00	active
34	M	AD	6a	05/95 – 11/96	lost	no signal – b
35	F	SA	4a	05/96 – 09/97	dead	treaty Indian
36	F	AD	8a	06/93 – 10/00	active
37	F	AD	10a	06/94 – 10/00	active
38	M	D	1a	never collared
39	F	SA	3a	05/95 – 08/96	lost	no signal – b
40	F	AD	15c	05/95 – 06/00	dead	natural
41	F	AD	12a	05/95 – 10/00	active
42	M	AD	7a	05/95 – 10/00	active
43	M	SA	5a	05/96 – 10/96	dead	illegal
44	M	SA	4a	06/95 – 08/96	dead	treaty Indian
ID	Sex	Age class 1	Age at first capture 2	Months monitored	Fate	Cause 3	Most recent sighting 4
45		AD		06/00 – 10/00	active
46	F	AD	11a	06/95 – 10/00	active
47	F	AD	9a	06/96 – 10/00	active
48	F	D	2a	06/96 – 06/97
48		SA		06/97 – 09/97	lost	no signal – c
49	M	D	2a	06/96 – 06/97
49		SA		06/97 – 06/98	lost	no signal – b	10/99
50	M	SA	4a	06/96 – 06/96	lost	no signal – a
51	M	AD	8a	05/97 – 06/98	lost	drop collar
52	M	AD	7b	05/97 – 10/00	active
53	M	SA	3a	05/97 – 10/98	dead	illegal
54	M	AD	15a	06/97 – 10/99	lost	no signal -c
55	F	AD	6a	06/97 – 09/99	lost	drop collar	10/99
56	F	D	3a	05/97 – 06/98
56		SA		06/98 – 03/00
56		AD		03/00 – 10/00	active
57	F	SA	5a	05/97 – 03/98
57		AD		03/98 – 10/00	active
58	M	AD	9a	06/97 – 09/97	dead	problem wildlife
59	F	D	3a	05/97 – 06/98
59		SA		06/98 – 03/00
59		AD		03/00 – 10/00	active
60	F	D	3a	05/97 – 06/98
60		SA		06/98 – 03/00
60		AD		03/00 – 08/00	dead	accidental
61	F	AD	12a	06/97 – 08/99	lost	no signal -c or a
62	F	AD	8a	06/97 – 10/00	active
63	F	AD	7a	06/99 – 10/00	active
64	F	AD	10a	06/99 – 10/00	active
65	F	D	4a	05/98 – 06/99
65		SA		06/99 – 03/00
65		AD		03/00 – 08/00	lost	drop collar
66	F	SA	4a	06/99 – 10/00	active
67	M	SA	3a	06/99 – 10/99	lost	no signal – b	06/00
68	M	SA	5a	08/00 – 10/00	active
69	F	SA	3a	09/00 – 10/00	active
70	F	SA	3a	09/00 – 10/00	active

1 D = dependent, SA = subadult, AD = adult (>5 years old)
2 certainty code from tooth analysis: a = +/- 0 years, b = +/- 1-2 years, c = +/- 2-3 years
3 (a) High probability that disappearance was related to death, (b) High probability that disappearance was unrelated to death, (c) No indication of which of the above 2 choices is more likely
4 sightings of animals who’s collar has either failed or dropped off
POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS
Observations from the research team as well as records from Banff National Park and Alberta Natural Resources Service established a minimum unduplicated count of females with cubs for the year (Table 3). Over time, a minimum count of sows with cubs (Table 4) can be established and used as a trend indicator (Knight et al. 1995).
Table 3. Unduplicated grizzly bear females with cubs of the year in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000.

Family Identification	Most Cubs Observed	Location	# of Sightings
A – 1993	1	Bryant Creek	2
B – 1993	2	Fatigue Creek	1
C – 1993	2	Moraine Lake	1
D – 1993	2	Cascade River	1
E – 1993	2	Elbow R. / Nahahi Ridge	3
F – 1993	2	Kananaskis Lakes	4
A – 1994	2	Lower Cascade River	1
B – 1994	1	Moose Mtn. / Elbow R.	2
C – 1994	2	Mt. Indefatigable	4
D – 1994	1	Bryant Cr. / Mt. Nestor	2
Bear #28 1994	1	Upper Cascade River	2
Bear #30 1994	3	Baker Lake / Pipestone R.	5
Bear #36 1994	1	Upper Bow River	2
Bear #46 1994	2	Pipestone River	1
Bear #47 1994	2	Kananaskis Lakes	2
A – 1995	2	West Bragg Cr / Powderface	3
B – 1995	2	Skogan Pass / Wasootch	3
C – 1995	2	Upper Spray / Albert R.	3
Bear #17 1995	1	Cascade River	13
Bear #18 1995	3	Bryant Cr. / Assiniboine	10
Bear #26 1995	2	Nakiska / Evans Thomas	6
Bear #31 1995	2	Highwood River	3
Bear #32 1995	3	Forty Mile Cr. / Elk Lake	12
Bear #33 1995	3	Cascade River / Stoney Cr.	14
A – 1996	1	Cascade R. / Grassy Ridge	1
B – 1996	3	Mid Spray River	1
Bear #24 1996	2	Highwood Pass	25
Bear #36 1996	2	Upper Bow River	8
Bear #37 1996	2	Elbow / Sheep Rivers	3
A – 1997	2	Wind Valley	2
B – 1997	3	Elbow Lakes	2
Family Identification	Most Cubs Observed	Location	# of Sightings
A – 1998	1	West Bragg Creek	2
B – 1998	2	Palliser Range	2
C – 1998	1	Pipestone River	1
Bear # 33 1998	2	Cascade River	4
Bear # 41 1998	1	Simpson River	4
Bear # 47 1998	2	Kananaskis Lakes	3
Bear # 55 1998	1	Cascade River	9
Bear # 57 1998	2	Plateau Mtn	6
Bear # 18 1999	1	Bryant Creek	4
Bear # 26 1999	2	Nakiska	1
Bear # 36 1999	2	Upper Bow R	5
Bear # 56 2000	1	Lake Louise	10
Bear # 37 2000	2	Elbow River	3

A – 2000

2

Elpoca Cr.

2

Table 4. Number of unduplicated females with cubs of the year (COY), and 6 year running averages in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000.
6 year running averages

6 year running averages
F w/COY	# cubs	Litter size
1993	6	11	1.8
1994	9	15	1.6
1995	9	20	2.2
1996	5	10	2.0
1997	2	5	2.5
1998	8	12	1.5	6.5	12.2	1.9
1999	3	5	1.6	6.0	11.2	1.9
2000	3	5	1.6	5.0	9.5	1.9

Reproductive success of radio collared females was determined through year to year visual observations between 1994 and 2000 (Table 5). Year to year cub survivorship can be tracked by referring to the table and comparing the number of cubs observed in a given year to the previous years observations. Reproductive data from collared females is being be used to construct an estimate of whether the sample population is increasing or decreasing.
Table 5. Reproductive status of known female grizzly bears in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 2000.

Female	Location	Age at first				Cubs In				Age of First	Interbirth
#		capture	94	95	96	97	98	99	2000	Parturition	Interval
17	Cascade River	10	0	1yoy	1	off air	2yoy	2			3
18	Bryant Creek	6	0	3yoy	2	2	2*	1yoy	1	7	4
24	Highwood Pass	5	0	0	2yoy	2	2*	0	0	7	5+
26	Nakisa	18	2*	2yoy	1	0	0	2yoy/died	0		4
27	Cascade River	2	0	0/off air	–	–	2yoy	2		6
28	Cascade River	22	1yoy	0	0/died
30	Lake Louise	9	3yoy	3	3	3	3*	0	0		7+
31	Highwood River	7	0	2yoy	off air					8
32	Cascade River	13	1*	3yoy	3	3*	off air
33	Cascade River	19	2*	3yoy	2	2*	2yoy	2	2		3
35	Evan Thomas	4		0	0	0/died
36	Upper Bow River	8	1yoy	0	2yoy	1	0	2yoy	2		3
37	Sheep River	10	1*	0	2yoy	1	0	0	2yoy		4
39	Kananaskis River	3		0	0/off air
40	Spray River	15		0	0	0	0	0	0/died
41	Brewster Creek	12		0	0	0	1yoy	1	1
46	Pipestone Creek	10	2yoy	2	2	2	2	2*	0		7+
47	Kananaskis Lakes	7	2yoy	2	2	2*	2yoy	2		7	4
48	Kananaskis Lakes	2			0	0/off air
55	Cascade River	6				0	1yoy	1/off air	1	7
56	Lake Louise	3				0	0	0	1yoy>0	6
57	Cateract Creek	5				0	2yoy	2	2	6
59	Lake Louise	3				0	0	0	0	7+
60	Lake Louise	3				0	0	0	0/died
61	Spray River	12				0	0	0/died ?
62	Cascade River	8				0	0	0	0
63	Yoho R.	7						0	0
64	Healy Creek	10						0	0
65	Pipestone River	4					0	0	0/off air	7+
66	Cascade River	4						0	0	6+
69	Wind Valley	4							0
70	Wind Valley	4							0

* denotes cubs dispersed
There were 3 known mortalities within the study area in 2000 (Table 6). Adult female #40 died of natural causes in June after falling off a cliff. Adult female #60 was hit and killed by a train near Lake Louise in August. An unmarked subadult male was shot in self defense in Kananaskis Country in September.
Table 6. Summary of grizzly bear mortalities in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000.

Bear Identification	Date	Location	Sex	Age	Kill Type
AFWS #21055a	08/19/93	West Spray-408b	M	3	PWc
Research #19	05/13/94	Kananaskis-648	M	6	AC
Research #22	05/28/94	Albert R.-B.C.	M	14	LH
AFWS #25161	09/29/94	Fortress Mt-408	M	subadult	IL
Research #12	10/04/94	Simpson R.-B.C.	M	13	SD
Research #21	07/26/95	Elkford B.C.	M	4	PW
AFWS #25722	08/20/95	Sarcee Reserve	M	unkn	TI
investigate	fall/95	3 Point Cr.-406	?	unkn	?
BNP L952104	09/25/95	Lake Louise	F&yly	adult	PW
C – 1995	10/12/95	Albert River	F	adult	PW
AFWS #34990	06/04/96	Morley	M	adult	TI
Research #44	08/23/96	Stoney Reserve	M	5	TI
Research #28	08/24/96	Cascade River	F	24	NA
Research #23	08/08/96	James River	M	5	PW
Research #43	10/10/96	Grease Creek	M	5	IL
BNP97-1567	fall 1996	Spray Lake	?	subadult	?
Research #35	09/20/97	Evan Thomas Cr.	F	5	TI
Research #58	09/23/97	James River	M	9	PW
BNP 1998	06/05/98	Bryant Cr.	?	subadult	NA
AFWS #36480	07/18/98	Kananaskis R	F	adult	AC
Research #53	10/20/98	Trap Cr.	M	4	IL
AFWS #	09/??/98	Pekisko Cr.	M	adult	PW
AFWS # 17883	09/??/99	Kananaskis R	M	subadult	AC
Research # 26	09/21/99	Nakiska	F	23	SD
AFWS # 42771	10/28/99	Highwood R	F	subadult	TI
Research # 40	06/03/00	Spray R	F	20	NA
Research # 60	08/17/00	Lake Louise	F	6	AC
AFWS # 47901	09/25/00	Elbow R	M	2	SD

a Registration or file number
b Wildlife Management Unit
c PW=problem wildlife, AC=accidental, LH=legal hunter, SD=self defense, NA=natural, TI=treaty Indian, IL=Illegal
There was one grizzly bear translocation out of the study area in 2000. An adult female bear was removed to the Calgary Zoo after two separate aggressive encounters near Canmore. Since 1993, there have been 7 translocations from the Bow River Watershed (Table 7).
Table 7. Summary of grizzly bear translocations in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993 – 2000.
Translocation
From To

Translocation
From To
AFWS #407801a	09/04/93	Canmore-410b Owl Crk-339	M	Subadult
Research #23	10/21/94	Sundre-318 Mitsue-350	M	3
B.C. GF75	09/26/95	Lake Louise Kinbasket L	F	9 & 1yly
Research #50	06/17/96	Canmore-410 Highwood-404	M	4
Research #16	07/05/96	Banff Calgary Zoo	M	8
AFWS	07/29/97	PLPP-648 White Goat-738	M	Subadult
AFWS	09/15/00	Nakiska-408 Calgary Zoo	F	18

aRegistration or file number
bWildlife Management Unit
The 34 grizzly bear deaths and removals in the Bow River Watershed between 1994 – 2000 are from a number of causes (Table 8). No one factor stands out. The diversity of mortality and removal causes means that it will continue to be challenging to maintain acceptable mortality / removal rates for subadult and adult female bears.
SCHEDULED CONCLUSION
The target of 8 years of data collection on about 25 grizzly bears per year will be met at the end of the field season in 2001. We appear to have sufficient data to complete all planned demographic and habitat analyses. An integrated final report will be published about one year after completion of field work in November 2001.
Table 8. Summary of known grizzly bear mortalities and removals by jurisdiction and activity in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta, 1993-2000.

	Problem Wildlife			Illegal	Treaty Indian		Accident	Self D.	Natural	Legal H.	Unknown	Total
	Agriculture	Public Safety	Garbage Mgmt.		Hunting	Garbage Mgmt.		(while hunting)			(suspect illegal)
Alberta	3	2	3	3	3	2	3	2			1	22
B.C.		1	1					1		1		4
N.P.		3					1		3		1	8
Total	3	6	4	3	3	2	4	3	3	1	2	34

LITERATURE CITED
Gibeau, M. and S. Herrero. 1995. Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project: 1994 Progress Report. University of Calgary, AB. 26 pp.
Knight, R.R., B.M. Blanchard, and L.L. Eberhardt. 1995. Appraising status of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population by counting females with cubs-of-the-year. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 23:245-248.
Komex Intl. 1995. Atlas of the Central Rockies Ecosystem. Komex Intl., Calgary, AB.