Bucket Cable Trap Technique for Capturing Black Bears on Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska Boyd Porter
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Wildlife Special Publication ADF&G/DWC/WSP–2021–1 Bucket Cable Trap Technique for Capturing Black Bears on Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska Boyd Porter Stephen Bethune ©2012 ADF&G. Photo by Stephen Bethune. 2021 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation Wildlife Special Publication ADF&G/DWC/WSP-2021-1 Bucket Cable Trap Technique for Capturing Black Bears on Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska PREPARED BY: Boyd Porter Wildlife Biologist1 Stephen Bethune Area Wildlife Biologist APPROVED BY: Richard Nelson Management Coordinator REVIEWED BY: Charlotte Westing Cordova Area Wildlife Biologist PUBLISHED BY: Sky M. Guritz Technical Reports Editor ©2021 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation PO Box 115526 Juneau, AK 99811-5526 Hunters are important founders of the modern wildlife conservation movement. They, along with trappers and sport shooters, provided funding for this publication through payment of federal taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and through state hunting license and tag fees. This funding provided support for Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Black Bear Survey and Inventory Project 17.0. 1 Retired Special Publications include reports that do not fit in other categories in the division series, such as techniques manuals, special subject reports to decision making bodies, symposia and workshop proceedings, policy reports, and in-house course materials. This Wildlife Special Publication was reviewed and approved for publication by Richard Nelson, Region I Management Coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Conservation. Wildlife Special Publications are available via the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s public website (www.adfg.alaska.gov) or by contacting Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation, PO Box 115526, Juneau, AK 99811-5526; phone: (907) 465- 4190; email: [email protected]. The report may also be accessed through most libraries, via interlibrary loan from the Alaska State Library or the Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (www.arlis.org). This document, published in PDF format only, should be cited as: Porter, B., and S. W. Bethune. 2021. Bucket cable trap technique for capturing black bears on Prince of Wales Island, Southeast, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Special Publication ADF&G/DWC/ WSP-2021-1, Juneau. Please contact the authors or the Division of Wildlife Conservation at (907) 465-4190 if you have questions about the content of this report. The State of Alaska is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This document is available in alternative communication formats. If you need assistance, please contact the Department ADA Coordinator via fax at (907) 465-6078; TTY/Alaska Relay 7-1-1 or 1-800-770-8973. ADF&G does not endorse or recommend any specific company or their products. Product names used in this publication are included for completeness but do not constitute product endorsement. Cover Photo: ©2012 ADF&G. An Adult female black bear moments before capture with a bucket cable trap. Photo by Stephen Bethune via RECONYX® motion-triggered trail camera. Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Study Area ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 3 Trap setup and monitoring .......................................................................................................... 4 Animal handling.......................................................................................................................... 7 Analytical methods and definitions ............................................................................................ 7 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................................... 7 Mortalities and serious injuries ................................................................................................... 8 Minor injuries.............................................................................................................................. 9 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Future Work .............................................................................................................................. 10 Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... 10 References Cited ........................................................................................................................... 10 Wildlife Special Publication ADF&G/DWC/WSP-2021-1 i List of Figures Figure 1. Black bear study area on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. .............................................. 2 Figure 2. Black bear capture locations on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, 2009–2012. ............... 3 Figure 3. Bucket cable trap fully deployed and operational. .......................................................... 4 Figure 4. Hole for trigger assembly and duct tape reinforcement .................................................. 5 Figure 6. Self-adhesive cable clamps inside bucket lid holding snare cable. ................................. 6 Figure 7. Snare cable attachment to thrower arm. .......................................................................... 6 Figure 8. Ferrule with no cable fray ends protruding. .................................................................... 9 List of Tables Table 1. Summary of trap success for spring and fall sessions, 2009–2012, Alaska. .................... 8 ii Wildlife Special Publication ADF&G/DWC/WSP-2021-1 Abstract American black bears (Ursus americanus) are commonly captured for research projects across North America. Various capture techniques are deployed depending on variables unique to a particular study. Researchers are continually developing improvements, modifications, or entirely new equipment to increase efficiency and maximize safety for both humans and animals. From 2009 to 2012, we captured 55 black bears on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska using a modified Aldrich M-15 bucket cable snare system. These captures were conducted in association with a larger research project investigating seasonal movements, home range, habitat selection and denning characteristics of coastal Alaskan black bears. We chose to use the M-15 system (bucket cable trap) based on cost, portability, and species selectivity. With gradual technique modifications, we increased our catch rate and efficiency from 214 trap days per bear, and 11% tripped traps resulting in a successful capture (success rate) to 2.9 trap days per bear and 88% success rate with the bucket cable trap. There were 2 capture mortalities (3.6%) over the course of the study. Factors which likely contributed to increased trapping efficiency were 1) securing the snare cable inside the bucket cable trap with self-adhesive clamps, 2) adequate buttressing of the trap, 3) removing protective plastic tubing from snare cable and 4) keeping the trap free of bait contamination except for the bait on the thrower arm trigger. Factors likely to decrease injuries are 1) minimizing the length of cable extensions, 2) using swivels at cable attachment points to keep cables from twisting and 3) eliminating any frayed cable ends. To eliminate cub mortalities, both trap height above ground and ensuring that there are no natural steps enabling them to insert their head into the bucket are critical. The results described here can serve to guide future researchers desiring safe and efficient methods for capturing black bears. Key words: Aldrich, black bear, bucket cable trap, capture, M-15, Prince of Wales Island, snare, Southeast Alaska, trap days, Ursus americanus Wildlife Special Publication ADF&G/DWC/WSP-2021-1 iii Introduction This paper describes the techniques we used to capture black bears (Ursus americanus) with a modified Aldrich M-15 system, hereafter referred to as a bucket-cable trap. We provide recommendations for increasing trapping efficiency and for reducing trap injuries and mortalities. Finally, through trapping efforts across 3 seasons, we describe what we found to be the best time of year to conduct black bear captures in Southeast Alaska. Multiple methods for capturing black bears exist but few black bears have been captured for research purposes in Southeast Alaska despite their popularity as a sport and subsistence resource. Black bears are occasionally captured by biologists using culvert traps in urban areas to remove bears that pose a threat to humans. However, culvert traps are not practical for studies in remote locations that require capturing a large number of bears (Powell and Proulx 2003). The Aldrich-style foot