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International Bear News Quarterly Newsletter of the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA) and the IUCN/SSC Bear Specialist Group Fall 2014 Vol. 23 no.3 Two male yearling American black bears captured together and collared along with their mother in late April, 2014. Read more on urban black bears in North Carolina on page 22. IBA website: www.bearbiology.org Table of Contents INTERNATIONAL BEAR NEWS 3 International Bear News, ISSN #1064-1564 BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH (CON’T) 25 Artificial Den Creation in Coastal British IBA PRESIDENT⁄IUCN BSG CO-CHAIRS Columbia, Canada 4 President’s Column 26 Unity College Bear Study: A Student 6 Can Tigers Help Save Bears? Perspective IBA MEMBER NEWS MANAGEMENT CORNER 8 Frederick Chamberlain Dean 1927 - 2014 28 A New Black Bear Density Estimate for New Mexico? IBA MEMBERSHIP NEWS 28 The Maine Bear Referendum 10 Membership Expiration Notification 29 Brain Lesions a Mystery in Nevada 30 Park County, Wyoming Carcass Management BEAR CONSERVATION FUND Program 10 Bear Conservation Fund News WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENTS nd CONSERVATION 31 22 Eastern Black Bear Workshop th 11 Bear Specialist Group Member Receives 31 12 Western Black Bear Workshop Award for Sloth Bear Conservation in India 12 BSG Red-listing and Other Conservation FORUMS Activities Reported in Greece 32 Student Forum ILLEGAL TRADE PUBLICATIONS 14 Strengthening our Knowledge on Bear Trade 30 Recent Bear Literature Through Collaboration Between TRAFFIC and the BSG IBA OFFICERS & COUNCIL 16 Understanding Attitudes Towards Bear 38 Executive Council Members and Ex-Officio Products in Cambodia and Lao PDR Members HUMAN BEAR CONFLICTS BSG COORDINATING COMMITTEE 18 Country-wide Range Mapping of Asiatic 39 BSG Expert Team Chairs Black Bears Reveals Increasing Range in Japan BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 20 Adding stones to the puzzle: Approaches to the Alopecia Syndrome in Captive Andean Bears (Tremarctos ornatus) 22 Movements, Population Ecology, and Harvest Vulnerability of Black Bears in Urban/Suburban Habitats within the Asheville Watershed 24 Making Scat Count: Citizens Help Inventory Grizzly Bear Populations in Alberta, Canada 2 International Bear News Fall 2014, vol. 23 no. 3 International Bear News International Bear News, ISSN #1064-1564 Tri-Annual newsletter of the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA) Editors: Mark Edwards (Managing Editor) Amy Macleod (Layout & Design) Jim Tomlin (Distribution & Proofing) Distribution: 19625 Charline Manor Road, Olney, MD 20832 USA Phone: +1 780-453-9125 Fax: +1 780-454-6629 Email: [email protected], Websites: www.bearbiology.com www.bearbiology.org Back issues are available at www.bearbiology.com Editorial Policy International Bear News welcomes articles about biology, conservation, and management of the world’s eight bear species. Submissions of about 750 words are preferred, and photos, drawings, and charts are appreciated. Submissions to regional correspondents by email are preferred; otherwise, mail or fax to the address above. IBA reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions. Regional Correspondents: Alaska: Steven Kovach, Email: [email protected] Western US and Canada: Carrie Lowe, Email: [email protected] Eastern US and Canada: Jared Laufenberg, Email:[email protected] Central and South America: Marco Enciso, Email:[email protected] Europe and Central Asia: Tatjana Rosen Michel, Email:[email protected] Zoo and Captive Bear Organizations: Jordan Schaul, Email:[email protected] Bear Specialist Group: Dave Garshelis, Email:[email protected] All other submission and/or inquiries: Mark Edwards, Email: [email protected] Deadline for the Spring 2015 issue is 5 February 2015. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue. Artwork is copyrighted – Do not reproduce without permission. For Membership Information and Publication Ordering Go to www.bearbiology.com to order or renew memberships, make donations, and/or update member information. The use of the IBA logo at the end of an article indicates The use of the BSG logo at the end of an article indicates articles submitted via the IBA regional correspondents and articles submitted via the Bear Specialist Group. the IBN editorial staff. International Bear News Fall 2014, vol. 23 no. 3 3 IBA President President’s Column Karen Noyce 15542 D County Road 72 Warba, MN 55793 USA Email: [email protected] 23rd International Bear Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece The 2014 IBA Conference is now behind us, and what an event it was! As I write, some people are still arriving home from extended travels following the conference. The meeting was full and lively, with attendance topping 270 and papers spanning a wide range of topics. Abstracts of oral papers and posters can be viewed on the IBA website (www.bearbiology.com); just click on the IBA dropdown menu on the home page, then on “Conferences and Workshops”, look under “Past conferences and workshops”, and you will see a place to click for Abstracts of the 23rd Conference. Special workshops dealt with conservation options for the remnant population of Mongolian Gobi bears, bear-human conflict, and a session presented by the IUCN Bear Specialist Group on progress in updating Red-List assessments of the world’s bear species (see the BSG column in this newsletter). There was good regional participation of biologists from the Balkans, where 9 countries, including Greece, share the Dinaris- Pindos population of brown bears, each with its own brand of bear management. Due to the close timing of the conference with this newsletter deadline, session summaries will not appear until the spring issue of IBN, but I will report on several conference events below. We owe enormous thanks to Alexandros Karamanlidis, Vicky Papadimitriou, and their teams from Arcturos and Symvoli for their monumental efforts in organizing and hosting this successful conference. Thanks, too, to the gracious welcome from the mayor of Thessaloniki (who also happens to be the founder of Arcturos), the Greek Ministry of Natural Resources, and our other Greek colleagues at the University of Thessaloniki and Kallisto, for welcoming us to Greece and showing us their city. President’s Award One of the delights of being IBA President is the opportunity to recognize a colleague for contributions to bear conserva- tion with the IBA President’s Award. There are no written rules for bestowing this award and no panel to choose the recipi- ent. Mike Pelton, who initiated this award, simply decided that the president could take the opportunity to single someone out for recognition that he or she felt was deserving. Past recipients have included, variously, those on the front lines of IBA, those working behind the scenes, and those making outstanding professional contributions, but all, through their work as active IBA members, making significant contributions to bear conservation. I am pleased this year to present this year’s President’s Award to Dr. Lydia Kolter, Curator of Mammals and Supervisor of Research at the Cologne Zoo, and an affiliate of the University of Cologne, Germany. I announced the award during closing remarks at the conference in Thessaloniki. Those who have attended IBA Conferences in the past will recognize Dr. Kolter as a quiet and steady presence in the IBA and the international bear community for over 2 decades. Her work in the fields of ex-situ wildlife research and the integration of zoo work with in-situ conservation are highly regarded and her passion for the work is undeniable. Work with bears in captive facilities has tended to occupy a minor position in the constellation of fields that anchor IBA conferences. But through Dr. Kolter’s reliable presence at IBA meetings and readiness to pose insight- ful questions and provide broader perspective to our field, she has been a steady force towards greater integration of in-situ and ex-situ conservation. Lydia has held her positions at the Cologne Zoo since 1984. She also coordinates several studbooks, including those for the Andean bear, sun bear, and Pshevalski horses. She is a long-standing member of the Bear Taxon Advisory Committee (BearTAG) for the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and she is co-chair of the Captive Bear Expert Team of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group. Lydia has mentored many people over the years with dedication and high expectations. As one former student said, “She is the pressure that turns carbon to diamonds”. 4 International Bear News Fall 2014, vol. 23 no. 3 IBA President Distinguished Service Award To our great sorrow, shortly before the final production of this newsletter, we learned of the passing of Fred Dean, chair of the Research and Conservation Grants Committee for 14 years. After falling gravely ill in early October and resigning as com- mittee chair, Fred took great pains to assure smooth transitioning to a new chair. Shortly before he died, IBA Council made our gratitude known for his years of exceptional service by awarding him the third ever IBA Distinguished Service Award. According to Sue, Fred’s wife, Fred was very touched by the award. During my years as BCF chair, I spent many hours on the phone with Fred discussing funding and the grants program and we came to be good friends. I will miss him. A full obituary appears on page 8. Council Business: IBA Council held a full-day meeting on Sunday, October 5, in Thessaloniki, immediately prior to the start of the 23rd IBA Conference. All officers and regular Council members were in attendance. The agenda was full. Among the most significant things to report from the meeting are the following. t IBA finances are in good shape, following a period of leaner years during the world economic downturn. Ursus is essentially self-supporting at this time, and revenues from our membership in BioOne and JSTOR continue to increase every year.