The laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. The two subspecies are: L. a. megalopterus – which can be seen from southeast Canada down to Central America, and L. a. atricilla which appears from the West Indies to the Venezuelan islands. The laughing gull was long placed in the genus Larus until its present placement in Leucophaeus, which follows the American Ornithologists' Union.
Name
The genus name Leucophaeus is from Ancient Greekleukos, "white", and phaios, "dusky". The specific atricilla is from Latinater, "black", and cilla, "tail". Linnaeus appears to have misread his note atricapilla (black-haired), which would have been much more appropriate for this black-headed, but white-tailed, bird.[2]
Range
It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Northernmost populations migrate farther south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare vagrant to western Europe. The laughing gull's English name is derived from its raucous kee-agh call, which sounds like a high-pitched laugh "ha... ha... ha...".[3]
Laughing gulls breed in coastal marshes and ponds in large colonies. The large nest, made largely from grasses, is constructed on the ground. The three or four greenish eggs are incubated for about three weeks.
Description
This
species is easy to identify. It is 36–41 cm (14–16 in) long with a
98–110 cm (39–43 in) wingspan. The summer adult's body is white apart
from the dark grey back and wings and black head. Its wings are much
darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller Franklin's gull, and they have black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The beak is long and red. The black hood is mostly lost in winter.
Laughing gulls take three years to reach adult plumage. Immature
birds are always darker than most similar-sized gulls other than
Franklin's. First-year birds are greyer below and have paler heads than
first-year Franklin's, and second-years can be distinguished by the wing
pattern and structure.
The three-toed sloths are tree-living mammals from Latin America. They are the only members of the genusBradypus and the familyBradypodidae. The four living species of three-toed sloths are the brown-throated sloth, the maned sloth, the pale-throated sloth, and the pygmy three-toed sloth. In complete contrast to past morphological studies, which tended to place Bradypus as the sister group to all other folivorans, molecular studies place them nested within the sloth superfamily Megatherioidea, making them the only surviving members of that radiation.[2][3]
Honduras in the north, through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama into
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil and eastern Peru
Evolution
A study of mitochondrial cytochrome b and 16S rRNA sequences suggests that B. torquatus diverged from B. variegatus and B. tridactylus about 12 million years ago, while the latter two split 5 to 6 million years ago. The diversification of B. variegatus lineages was estimated to have started 4 to 5 million years ago.[4]
Relation to the two-toed sloth
Both types of sloth
tend to occupy the same forests; in most areas, a particular species of
three-toed sloth and a single species of the somewhat larger and
generally faster-moving two-toed sloth will jointly predominate. Although similar in overall appearance, the two genera are placed in different families. Recent phylogenetic
analyses support the morphological data from the 1970s and 1980s that
the two genera are not closely related and that each adopted their arboreal lifestyles independently.[5] From morphological studies it was unclear from which ground-dwelling sloth
taxa the three-toed sloths evolved or whether they retained their
arboreality from the last common ancestor of sloths. The two-toed sloths
were thought on the basis of morphology to nest phylogenetically within
one of the divisions of ground-dwelling Caribbean sloths.[6]
Our understanding of sloth phylogeny has recently been greatly revised by molecular studies, based on collagen[2] and mitochondrial DNA[3] sequences. These investigations consistently place three-toed sloths within Megatherioidea, close to Megalonyx, megatheriids and nothrotheriids, and two-toed sloths close to mylodontids, while moving the Caribbean sloths to a separate, basal branch of the sloth evolutionary tree.[2][3] These results provide further strong support for the long-held belief that arboreality arose separately in the two genera via convergent paths.
Characteristics
Famously slow-moving, a sloth travels at an average speed of 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph).[7]
Three-toed sloths are about the size of a small dog or a large cat,
with the head and body having a combined length around 45 cm (18 in) and
a weight of 3.5–4.5 kg (8–10 lb). Unlike the two-toed sloths, they also
have short tails of 6–7 cm (2–3 in), and they have three clawed toes on
each limb. They are frequently referred to as three-toed sloths, but
all sloths have three toes; the difference is found in the number of
fingers, meaning that they are now more appropriately referred to as
three-fingered sloths. This idea was first implemented by Judy
Avey-Arroyo, cofounder of the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica, but is now recognized in numerous publications as the correct terminology for these animals.[8]
Behavior
Unlike the two-toed sloth, three-toed sloths are agile swimmers. They are still slow in trees.[9]
The offspring cling to their mother's bellies for around nine months.
They cannot walk on all four limbs, so they must use their front arms
and claws to drag themselves across the rainforest floor.
Three-toed sloths are arboreal (tree-dwelling), with a body
adapted to hang by their limbs. They live high in the canopy, but
descend once a week to defecate on the forest floor. Their long, coarse
fur often appears greenish, not due to pigment, but to algae growing on
it. Sloths' greenish color and their sluggish habits provide an
effective camouflage; hanging quietly, sloths resemble a bundle of
leaves. Large, curved claws help sloths to keep a strong grip on tree
branches.[7]
They move between different trees up to four times a day,
although they prefer to keep to a particular type of tree, which varies
between individuals, perhaps as a means of allowing multiple sloths to
occupy overlapping home ranges without competing with each other.[10]
Three-toed sloths are predominantly diurnal, although they can be active at any hour of the day, while two-toed sloths are nocturnal.[11]
Lifecycle
Members of this genus tend to live around 25 to 30 years, reaching sexual maturation at three to five years of age.
Three-toed sloths do not have a mating season and breed year round. Females give birth to a single young after a gestation period around six months. They are weaned
around nine months of age, when the mother leaves her home territory to
her offspring and moves elsewhere. Adults are solitary, and mark their
territories using anal scent glands and dung middens.[10]
Male three-toed sloths are attracted to females in estrus by their screams echoing throughout the canopy. Sloth copulation lasts an average of 25 minutes.[12]
Male three-toed sloths are strongly polygamous, and exclude competitors
from their territory. Males are also able to compete with one another
within small habitable territories.[13]
The home ranges used by wild brown-throated three-toed sloths in Costa Rica include cacao, pasture, riparian forests, and living fence-rows.
For the first few months after giving birth, mothers remain at just one
or two trees, and guide their young. At about five to seven months of
age, when the young have become more independent, mothers expand their
resources and leave their young in new areas. The home range
for mothers are larger than those of young. After separation, only the
mothers use the cacao agro forest, but both use riparian forest.
Different types of trees are used by both mother and young, which
indicates that this agricultural matrix provides an important habitat
type for these animals.[14]
Dentition and skeleton
Three-toed sloths have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of peg-shaped cheek teeth that are not clearly divided into premolars and molars, and lack homology
with those teeth in other mammals, thus are referred to as molariforms.
The molariform dentition in three-toed sloths is simple and can be
characterized as dental formula of: 54-5.[15]
Three-toed sloths are unusual amongst the mammals in possessing as many as nine cervical vertebrae, which may be due to mutations in the homeotic genes.[16] All other mammals have seven cervical vertebrae,[17] other than the two-toed sloth and the manatee, which have only six.
Green: B. variegatus, Blue: B. tridactylus, Red: B. torquatus
The Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska.[2] It is the largest recognized subspecies of brown bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today, the other being the polar bear.[3]
Physiologically, the Kodiak bear is very similar to the other brown bear subspecies, such as the mainland grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and the now-extinct California grizzly bear (U. a. californicus†),
with the main difference being in size. While there is generally much
variation in size between brown bears in different areas, most usually
weigh between 115 and 360 kg (254 and 794 lb).[4] The Kodiak bear, on the other hand, commonly reaches sizes of 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb), and has even been known to exceed weights of 680 kg (1,500 lb).[2]
Despite this large variation in size, the diet and lifestyle of the
Kodiak bear does not differ greatly from that of other brown bears.
Encounters between humans and Kodiak bears have been very
frequent since ancient times. Today, these encounters have become more
common as a result of the increase in the human population in the
region. Such encounters have included the hunting of bears by humans for their fur
or meat, and, less commonly, attacks by bears upon humans. More
recently, as conservation efforts have become more commonplace, concerns
over the sustenance and stability of the Kodiak bear population have
arisen. The IUCN classifies Ursus arctos, the species to which the Kodiak belongs, as being of "least concern" in terms of endangerment or extinction.
However, the IUCN does not differentiate between subspecies; therefore,
it is unknown whether the Kodiak bear population is as healthy as is
stated. As a result, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, along with, to a lesser extent, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, closely monitors the number of bears hunted in the state.
Description
Taxonomy
Taxonomist C.H. Merriam was first to recognize the Kodiak bear as a unique subspecies of the brown bear, and he named it "Ursus middendorffi" in honor of the celebrated Baltic naturalist, Dr. A. Th. von Middendorff.[1] Subsequent taxonomic work merged all North American brown bears into a single species (Ursus arctos).
Genetic samples from bears on Kodiak have shown that they are related to brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula and Kamchatka, Russia,
and all brown bears roughly north of the US. Kodiak bears have been
genetically isolated since at least the last ice age (10,000 to 12,000
years ago) and very little genetic diversity exists within the population.[5] Although the current population is healthy and productive, and has shown no overt adverse signs of inbreeding, it may be more susceptible to new diseases or parasites than other, more diverse brown bear populations.
Color
Hair colors
range from blonde to orange (typically females or bears from southern
parts of the archipelago) to dark brown. Cubs often retain a white
"natal ring" around their neck for the first few years of life. The
Kodiak bears' color is similar to that of their very close relative, the
grizzly bear and the Eurasian brown bear.[6]
Size
Adult
The size range for females (sows) is from 181 to 318 kg (399 to
701 lb), and for males (boars), it is 272 to 635 kg (600 to 1,400 lb).[2][7] Mature males average 477–534 kg (1,052–1,177 lb) over the course of the year,[8] and can weigh up to 680 kg (1,500 lb) at peak times. Females are typically about 20% smaller and 30% lighter than males,[2]
and adult sizes are attained when they are 6 years old. Bears weigh the
least when they emerge from their dens in the spring, and can increase
their weight by 20–30%[7] during late summer and fall. Captive bears can sometimes attain weights that are considerably greater than those of their counterparts in the wilderness.
An average adult male measures 244 cm (8 ft 0 in) in length, and
stands 133 cm (4 ft 4 in) tall at the shoulder. The largest recorded wild male weighed 751 kg (1,656 lb), and had a hind foot measurement of 46 cm (18 in).[8]
A large male Kodiak bear stands up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall at the
shoulder, when it is standing on all four legs. When standing fully
upright on its hind legs, a large male could reach a height of 3 m
(9.8 ft).[2] The largest verified size for a captive Kodiak bear was for a specimen that lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Nicknamed "Clyde," he weighed 966 kg (2,130 lb) when he died in June
1987 at the age of 22. According to zoo director Terry Lincoln, Clyde
probably weighed close to 1,090 kg (2,400 lb) a year earlier. He still
had a fat layer of 9 in (23 cm) when he died.[9][a]
Kodiak bears are the largest brown bear, comparable in size to polar bears.
This makes Kodiak bears and polar bears both the two largest members of
the bear family and Kodiak bears the largest extant terrestrial[b] carnivorans.[3]
The standard method of evaluating the size of bears is by measuring their skulls. Most North American hunting organizations and management agencies use calipers to measure the length of the skull (back of sagittal crest on the back of the skull to the front tooth), and the width (maximum width between the zygomatic arches
— "cheek bones"). The total skull size is the sum of these two
measurements. The largest bear ever killed in North America was from
Kodiak Island, with a total skull size of 78.1 cm (30.7 in), and eight
of the top 10 brown bears listed in the Boone and Crockett record book are from Kodiak.[13]
The average skull size of Kodiak bears that were killed by hunters in
the first five years of the 21st century was 63.8 cm (25.1 in) for
boars, and 55.4 cm (21.8 in) for sows.[14]
Distribution and density
This brown bear population only occurs on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago (Kodiak, Afognak, Shuyak, Raspberry, Uganik, Sitkalidak,
and adjacent islands). The Kodiak bear population was estimated to
include 3,526 bears in 2005, yielding an estimated archipelago-wide
population density of 270 bears per 1000 km2 (700 per 1000 sq.mi). During the past decade the population has been slowly increasing.[15]
Life history
Reproduction and survival
Mother bear with cubs
Kodiak bears reach sexual maturity at age five, but most sows are
over nine years old when they successfully wean their first litter. The
average time between litters is four years. Sows continue to produce
cubs throughout their lives, but their productivity diminishes after
they are 20 years old.[16]
Mating season for Kodiak bears is during May and June. They are
serially monogamous (having one partner at a time), staying together
from two days to two weeks. As soon as the egg is fertilized and divides
a few times, it enters a state of suspended animation until autumn when
it finally implants on the uterine wall and begins to grow again. Cubs
are born in the den during January or February.[2]
Weighing less than 450 g (1 lb) at birth with little hair and closed
eyes, they suckle for several months, emerging from the den in May or
June, weighing 6.8–9.1 kilograms (15–20 pounds).[2] Typical litter sizes on Kodiak are two or three cubs,[2] with a long-term average of 2.4 cubs per litter.[16] However, Kodiak bears have six functional nipples and litters up to six cubs have been reported.[17] Sows are sometimes seen with five or six cubs in tow, probably due to adopting cubs from other litters.[2] Most cubs stay with their mothers for three years. Almost half of the cubs die before they leave,[16] with cannibalism by adult males being one of the major causes of death.
Kodiak bears that have recently left their mothers, at ages 3–5 years, have high mortality rates[2] with only 56% of males and 89% of females surviving.[15]
Most young female bears stay within or near their mother’s home range,
while most males move farther away. Most adult sows die of natural
causes (56%), while most adult male bears are killed by hunters (91%).[15] The oldest known boar in the wild was 27 years old, and the oldest sow was 35.[18]
Denning
Kodiak
bears begin entering their dens in late October. Pregnant sows are
usually the first to go to dens; males are the last. Males begin
emerging from their dens in early April, while sows with new cubs may
stay in dens until late June. Bears living on the north end of Kodiak
Island tend to have longer denning periods than bears in the southern
areas. Most Kodiak bears dig their dens in hill or mountain sides and
they use a wide variety of denning habitats depending on which part of
the archipelago they live. Almost a quarter of the adult bears forgo
denning, staying somewhat active throughout the winter.[2][15]
Home range
Bears on Kodiak are naturally active during the day, but when faced with competition for food or space, they adopt a more nocturnal
(active at night) lifestyle. This behavior is especially evident in the
bears that live near and within Kodiak City. Kodiak bears do not defend
territories, but they do have traditional areas that they use each year
(home ranges). Because of the rich variety of foods available on
Kodiak, the bears on the archipelago have some of the smallest home
ranges of any brown bear populations in North America[19]
and a great deal of overlap occurs among the ranges of individual
bears. Home ranges of adult sows on Kodiak Island average 130 km2 (50 sq mi), while boar home ranges average 250 km2 (97 sq mi).[15]
The islands of the Kodiak Archipelago have a subpolar oceanic climate
with cool temperatures, overcast skies, fog, windy conditions and
moderate to heavy precipitation throughout most of the year. Although
the archipelago only covers about 13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi), a rich variety of topography and vegetation ranges from dense forests of Sitka spruce
on the northern islands, to steep, glaciated mountains rising to Koniag
Peak's 1,360 m (4,470 ft) along the central spine of Kodiak Island, to
rolling hills and flat tundra on the south end of the archipelago. About
14,000 people live on the archipelago, primarily in and around the city
of Kodiak and six outlying villages. Roads and other human alterations are generally limited to Afognak Island and the northeastern part of Kodiak Island. About half of the archipelago is included in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.[15]
Bears live throughout the archipelago, adapting to local
resources and retaining relatively small home ranges and comparable
densities in most habitats. Emerging vegetation and animals that died
during the winter are the first foods bears eat in the spring. As summer
progresses, a wide variety of vegetation supplies nutritional needs
until salmon
return. Salmon runs extend from May through September on most of the
archipelago and bears consume the five species of Pacific salmon that
spawn in local streams and lakes. In the late summer and early fall,
bears consume several types of berries. Bears also feed on wind-rowed
seaweed and invertebrates on some beaches throughout the year. Although deer are abundant on the archipelago and mountain goats
are abundant on Kodiak Island, few Kodiak bears actively prey on them.
Another food source available year-round is the garbage supplied by the
human population of Kodiak Island. As climate change causes elderberries
to ripen earlier, berry season is now overlapping with salmon season
and some bears are abandoning salmon runs to focus on the berries.[20][15]
Behavior
Senses and intelligence
The
Kodiak bear is much like other brown bears in intelligence, although
its tendency to feed in large dense groups leads to more complex social
behaviors.
Interactions with other bears
Kodiak
bears are generally solitary in nature; however, when food is
concentrated in small areas, such as along salmon spawning streams,
grass/sedge flats, berry patches, a dead whale, or even an open garbage
dump, they often occur in large groups. Along a few streams on Kodiak,
up to 60 bears can be seen simultaneously in a 2.6 km2
(1.0 sq mi) area. To maximize food intake at these ecologically
important areas, bears have learned to minimize fighting and fatal
interactions by developing a complex communication (both verbal and body
posturing) and social structure.
Interactions with people
Usually,
Kodiak bears attempt to avoid encounters with people. The most notable
exceptions to this behavior pattern occur when bears are surprised,
threatened, or attracted by human food, garbage, or hunter-killed game.
However, there has been an increase in Kodiak encounters due to
increases in local population as well as increased hunting of Kodiak
bears. Bear safety precautions aim at avoiding such situations,
understanding bear needs and behavior, and learning how to recognize the
warning signs bears give when stressed.[21][22]
One fatal bear attack on a person on the Kodiak archipelago occurred in 1999.[23] The National Geographic Society
filmed a television program about two brown bear attacks. A fatal
attack occurred on Uganik Island (November 3, 1999), which is part of
the Kodiak archipelago; the other attack occurred on Raspberry Island,
home to two full-service wilderness lodges. Both hunters were returning
to game they had killed previously and left alone to go kill another.
One of the hunters was killed by the bear and the other, after being
attacked, stabbed the bear with a knife, then recovered his rifle and
killed the attacking bear. Prior to that, the last fatality was in 1921.[24] Both incidents involved hunters who were hunting by themselves. About once every other year, a bear injures a person on Kodiak.[25]
History and management
Kodiak bear
Prehistory
Early human occupants of the archipelago when the land was locked into the ice age
looked to the sea for their sustenance. At that time, Kodiak Natives
(Alutiiqs) occasionally hunted bears, using their meat for food, hides
for clothing and bedding, and teeth for adornment. Traditional stories
often revolved around the similarity between bears and humans, and
around the mystical nature of bears because of their proximity to the
spirit world.[26]
Commercial harvests
Russian
hunters came to the area in the late 18th century to capitalize on the
abundant fur resources. Bear hides were considered a "minor fur" and
sold for about the same price as river otter
pelts. The number of bears harvested increased substantially when sea
otter populations declined and after the United States acquired Alaska
in 1867,[27]
bear harvests on Kodiak increased, peaking at as many as 250 bears per
year. Commercial fishing activities increased in the late 1880s and
canneries proliferated throughout the archipelago. Bears were viewed as
competitors for the salmon resource and were routinely shot when seen on
streams or coasts. At the same time, sportsmen and scientists had
recognized the Kodiak bear as the largest in the world, and they voiced
concerns about overharvesting the population.[24]
Guided hunters and competition for resources
Professional
interest in guided Kodiak bear hunts and a concern for unregulated
resource use in frontier lands such as Alaska prompted the territorial
government’s newly established Alaska Game Commission to abolish
commercial bear hunting (selling the hides) on the archipelago in 1925.
The impacts of the new regulations seemed to restore bear populations on
the Kodiak islands. By the 1930s, ranchers on northeast Kodiak reported
an increase in bear problems and demanded action. Bears were also seen
as a threat to the expanding commercial salmon-fishing industry. To
address the dilemma of conserving bears while protecting cattle, salmon,
and people, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Kodiak National
Wildlife Refuge by executive order in 1941.[26] The 7,700 km2
(1,900,000 acres) refuge roughly encompasses the southwestern
two-thirds of Kodiak Island, Uganik Island, the Red Peaks area on
northwestern Afognak Island, and all of Ban Island.
Alaska achieved statehood in 1959 and assumed responsibility for
managing the state’s wildlife. The Alaska Board of Game reduced
bear-hunting seasons on Afognak
and Raspberry Islands and on the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, but
liberalized bear seasons on nonrefuge lands on Kodiak. During the 1960s,
state biologists worked with ranchers along the Kodiak road system to
examine and reduce the predation problem. Biologists reported that
cattle and bears were not compatible on the same ranges and potential
solutions included poisons, fences to isolate cattle ranges, and aerial
shooting of bears. Again, sport hunters voiced their support for Kodiak
bears. In spite of public pressure, the state continued actively
pursuing and dispatching problem bears until 1970.[28]
Changes in land status
In
1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) resolved many
long-standing land issues with aboriginal Alaskans statewide. The
impacts were felt strongly on the archipelago as large areas were
conveyed to the Native corporations. Federal management of the National
Forest lands on Afognak was transferred to Native Corporation ownership
with passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in
1980 (ANILCA), and the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge lost control of
130,000 hectares (310,000 acres) of prime bear habitat (more than 17% of
refuge lands).[26]
In 1975, construction of a logging road began on Afognak Island,
and timber harvesting began in 1977. In 1979, work began on an
environmental impact statement for the Terror Lake hydroelectric project
on Kodiak Island. That project included an earthen dam on Terror Lake
with Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and a 10 km (6 mi) tunnel through a
mountain ridge to a penstock and powerhouse in the Kizhuyak River
drainage. The hydro project was the first significant invasion of
inland bear habitat on Kodiak Island. To address the opposition
encountered from the public and agencies, a mitigation settlement was
negotiated in 1981 which included brown bear research and establishment
of the Kodiak Brown Bear Trust.[29]
The hydroelectric project was completed in 1985. Human alteration of
bear habitat on Kodiak and Afognak Islands spurred renewed interest and
funding for bear research on the archipelago, resulting in a surge of
baseline and applied bear research on Kodiak through the 1980s and
1990s.
Bears were not directly harmed by the Exxon Valdez
oil spill in 1989, although some were displaced from traditional
feeding and traveling areas by cleanup crews. No one was injured by a
bear, and no Kodiak bears were killed. To mitigate the adverse impacts
of the spill, Exxon reached a settlement with the state and federal
governments. Paradoxically, the impacts of the oil spill and the
subsequent cleanup and settlement proved to be beneficial to bears on
Kodiak. Bear-safety training exposed thousands of workers to factual
information about bears, and money from the settlement fund was used for
funding land acquisitions. By the close of the 20th century, over 80%
of the refuge lands that had been lost as a result of ANCSA and ANILCA
were reinstated into the refuge, either through direct purchase or by
means of conservation easements. Lands were also purchased in America,
Westtown, and Shuyak Islands
and transferred into state ownership. The Kodiak Brown Bear Trust
coordinated a coalition of sportsmen and other wildlife conservation
groups from around the nation to lobby for use of settlement funds to
acquire Kodiak lands. The groups also directly contributed funding to
protect small parcels of important bear habitat around the islands.[26]
Kodiak Archipelago Bear Conservation and Management Plan
In 2001, a citizens advisory committee was established to work
closely with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), with
the cooperation of Kodiak NWR, to develop a management plan addressing
several problems that affect bears, including hunting, habitat, and
viewing. The resulting Kodiak Archipelago Bear Conservation and
Management Plan[30]
was crafted over several months by representatives from 12 diverse user
groups, which, after hearing from a variety of experts from agencies
and receiving extensive public input, developed more than 270
recommendations for managing and conserving Kodiak bears. Despite the
diversity of viewpoints expressed by members of the group, all of the
recommendations were by consensus.
The underlying themes of the recommendations were continued
conservation of the bear population at its current level, increased
education programs to teach people how to live with bears on Kodiak, and
protection of bear habitat with allowances for continued human use of
the archipelago. Although the group's role is merely advisory,
government management agencies expressed a commitment to implement all
of the regulations that were feasible and within their legal
jurisdictions.
Kodiak
bear research and habitat protection is done cooperatively by the
ADF&G and Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Bear hunting is managed
by the ADF&G, and hunting regulations are established by the Alaska
Board of Game. Currently, a finely tuned management system distributes
hunters in 32 different areas during two seasons (spring: April 1 – May
15, and fall: October 25 – November 30). Each year, about 4,500 people
apply for the 496 permits offered for Kodiak bear hunts (two-thirds to
Alaska residents, one-third to nonresidents). Nonresidents are required
to hire a registered guide who is authorized to hunt in a particular
area, and this can cost from $10,000–$22,000. All hunters must come into
the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Kodiak prior to going
into the field for a brief orientation and must check out before they
leave the island. Every bear that is legally killed on the archipelago
must be inspected by an ADF&G wildlife biologist before it can be
taken from the islands.[33]
Pelts receive a stamp from an ADF&G officer if the hunter and guide
provide proper documentation to prove licensing. Pelts cannot be
transported or legally preserved or sold without the official stamp.
Hunting laws are strictly enforced by the ADF&G officers who often
have the full support of the local community. Illegal hunting and
fishing is frowned upon by the community which maintains a healthy
respect for the island's environmental laws, as well. Stiff penalties
accompany illegal hunting and fishing. The island's remote location
makes trafficking in illegal pelts difficult for would-be poachers.
Since statehood, the reported number of Kodiak bears killed by
hunters has ranged from 77 (1968–1969) to 206 (1965–1966). From 2000 to
2006, an average of 173 Kodiak bears were killed by hunters each year
(118 during the fall season and 55 in the spring season). Over 75% of
those were males. An additional nine bears were reported killed annually
in defense of life or property during the same time. The number of
large, trophy-sized bears (total skull size at least 70 cm [28 inches])
killed by hunters in recent years has been increasing. In the 1970s,
only 2.5% of the bears killed on Kodiak were trophy-sized; in the 1990s
and 2000s, the proportion increased to almost 9%.[14]
Bear-viewing
A floatplane based in Kodiak takes guests from a wilderness lodge on Raspberry Island for a day of bear viewing.
In the past 20 years, bear viewing has become increasingly popular on
Kodiak and other parts of Alaska. The most accessible bear-viewing
location on Kodiak, Frazer River,
had over 1,100 people come in 2007. Visitor numbers have been
increasing at about 10% annually and development of additional bear
viewing areas on Kodiak is planned. Also, other bear viewing
opportunities exist through air-taxi, charter boat, remote lodge, and
trekking operations on the archipelago.
Although bear-viewing is often considered a "nonconsumptive" use,
it can have serious impacts on bear populations if it is not conducted
properly. Most viewing occurs at places where bears congregate because
of feeding opportunities that are critical to their survival. If some
bears avoid these areas because people are there, those bears may not
get the fat and protein they need to make it through the upcoming
winter. Consequently, unmanaged bear viewing could affect several bears,
especially productive sows with cubs.
Often, bear-viewing and bear-hunting are considered incompatible.
Even if the bear population is healthy and bear hunting is sustainable,
ethical questions arise especially if hunting occurs near viewing areas
and either during or soon after the viewing season. Many feel that it
is not fair to encourage bears to be close to people during the summer,
only to allow them to be shot in the fall. The Kodiak bear plan
recognized bear hunting as a legitimate, traditional, and biologically
justifiable activity. It recommended that agencies find ways to make
bear hunting and bear viewing compatible on the archipelago.[30]
Cultural significance
The Alutiiq people hold the bear with importance. Its Alutiiq name is Taquka’aq (Bear),[34][35] with the pronunciation varying between Northern and Southern dialects.[36]
Mating plumage includes black head and red bill
Definitive alternate plumage
Adult in mid-May (definitive alternate plumage)
Laughing gull, alternate plumage, North Carolina, US, 2016
Adult in winter (definitive basic plumage)
Juvenile
Adult at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (definitive alternate plumage)
Vagrant in definitive basic plumage in the UK in late 2005
Preparing to land on beach
Los Roques Venezuela
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
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