Population reduction by hunting helps control human-wildlife conflicts for a species that is a conservation success story.

摘要: Among the world's large Carnivores, American black bears (Ursus americanus) are foremost conservation success story. Populations have been expanding across North America because species is adaptable and tolerant of living near people, management agencies in U.S. Canada controlled hunting other human-sources mortality. As a result, human-black bear conflicts (damage to property, general nuisance, threat human safety) dramatically increased some areas, making it urgently important develop deploy variety mitigation tools. Previous studies claimed that legal did not directly reduce conflicts, but they evaluate whether via population size. Here, we compared temporal patterns phoned-in complaints about (total ~63,500) Minnesota, USA, over 4 decades corresponding estimates: both doubled during first decade. We also quantified natural foods, found year-to-year fluctuations affected numbers complaints; however, since this variation due largely weather, factor cannot be managed. Complaints fell sharply when agency (1) shifted more responsibility for preventing mitigating public; (2) pressure population. This reduction was extreme than intended, after curtailed, regrowth slower anticipated; consequently size remained at relatively low levels statewide 2 (although with local hotspots). These long-term data indicated can kept tolerable bounds by managing through hunting; bluntness instrument deficiencies uncertainties monitoring manipulating populations, wiser maintain level where socially-acceptable try once well beyond point.