Climate change affecting tundra grizzlies: researcher
Bears coming into contact with humans
Climate change is pushing tundra grizzlies into Arctic communities where they would not normally be seen, raising issues about human safety and conservation of the bears.
Vincent L’Herault, a biologist and PhD student at the University of Quebec in Rimouski, said grizzlies are expanding their range in a northeasterly direction, showing up in communities such as Arviat, Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet. When that happens, the grizzly is usually shot as a safety measure, and for the valuable hide and meat.
“There is more and more conflict with the local communities,” L’Herault said. “Elders say they never saw grizzlies in their childhood. People are pretty concerned about this new phenomenon.”.
Unlike polar bears, which are hunted according to quotas, grizzlies are managed as furbearers and are not subject to the same restrictions, L’Herault said. The federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada lists both polar bears and grizzlies as species of special concern.
“It’s a big conflict,” L’Herault said. “There is no quota on the grizzly bears and that is an issue with conservation managers.”
If a community’s polar bear quota is used up, he said, there may be a greater effort to scare one away before shooting — something that tends not to happen with grizzlies.
Conflicts develop when grizzlies show up not just in communities, but at remote hunting camps or cabins where they may try to break in to get food, he said.
“The overall comment is: ‘We can’t let them come close. We need to shoot them when they come around. There are security issues with the children, the women, the camp.’ That seems to be the dominant thought.”
Under climate change, grizzlies could spend less time in their dens and have more plants to eat, allowing them to range farther. Grizzlies are omnivores, but most of their diet is vegetation.
L’Herault’s research is part of a five-year project involving 13 communities, including hunters and trappers, the government of Nunavut, and university researchers.