Interactions Between Wolves and Female Grizzly Bears with Cubs in Yellowstone National Park
SHORTCOMMUNICATIONS Interactions between wolves and female grizzly bears with cubs in Yellowstone National Park A. 3 Kerry Gunther1 and Douglas W. Smith2'4 adult males, solitary adult females, and female grizzly bears accompaniedby yearling or 2-year-old offspring Bear ManagementOffice, PO Box 168, Yellowstone would occasionally usurp wolf-killed ungulates and National WY Park, 82190, USA scavenge the remains. We hypothesized that these 2Wolf PO Box YellowstoneNational Project, 168, Park, cohorts of grizzly bears would be more successful than WY,82190, USA subadultsat usurpingwolf-kills. We furtherhypothesized Key words: Canis lupus, cub bear, mortality, grizzly that due to potential danger to cubs, females with cubs interferencecompetition, interspecific killing, klepto- would not attemptto displacewolf packs from theirkills. Ursus Yellowstone National parasitism, arctos, wolf, Our of interactions between Park monitoring interspecific wolves and bears is From wolf Ursus15(2):232-238 (2004) grizzly ongoing. reintroductionin 1995 until Januaryof 2003, 96 wolf- grizzly bear interactionshave been recorded(Ballard et al. 2003; D. Smith, National Park Service, Yellowstone NationalPark, Wyoming, USA, unpublisheddata). Here we observationsof interactionsbetween wolves Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were extirpated from report and female bears with cubs and evidence of wolf Yellowstone NationalPark (YNP) by the 1920s through grizzly bear cubs near carcasses. Due to predatorcontrol actions (Murie 1940,Young and Gold- packs killing grizzly man 1944, Weaver 1978), then reintroducedinto the grizzly bears' low reproductiverate (Schwartz et al. and statusas a threatened park from 1995 to 1996 to restore ecological integrity 2003) species (USFWS 1993), the effects of wolves on carcass and cub and adhere to legal mandates (Bangs and Fritts 1996, availability survival is an Phillips and Smith 1996, Smith et al.
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