A Profile of Panhandling Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 6-1983 A Profile of anhandlingP Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Jane Tate University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Tate, Jane, "A Profile of Panhandling Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1983. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2526 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Jane Tate entitled "A Profile of Panhandling Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Michael R. Pelton, Gordon M. Burghardt, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Edward E. C. Clebsch, Cheryl B. Travis Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: We are submitting herewith a dissertation written by Jane Tate entitled "A Profile of Panhandling Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park." We have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial ful fillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philo sophy, with a major in Ecology. Michael R. Pelton, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Vice Chancellor Graduate Studies and Research A PROFILE OF PANHA�DLEG BLACK DE.t.;."'tS U TilE GREAT S:lOKY �10U:NTAD1S :'l'ATIONAL PARK A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Jane Tate June 1983 To Heather, \vith love ii AC::�WLJtEDG'·fE:lTS ·�ny people deserve reco gnitio n for their roles in making this project a reality. To Professors �ichael R. Pelton and Gordon M. Burghard t, the co-directors of my research, I express sincere appreciation for their support, patience, and friendship. They allowed me to work independently but offered enlightenment and assistance \Jhen I needed it. I thank Drs. Edward E. C. Clebsch and Cheryl B. Travis for serving as committee members and providing their expertise in different disciplines . I am also gra teful to Dr. Boyd L. Dearden for lo aning me pho tographic equipment and offer ing insight on data organization anrl analysis. Don Uroach, Dr. Alan Lasater, and Dr . Susan Riechert provided additional help in various aspects of data analysis. I thank Dr. John Rennie for loaning me his typewriter to complete this manuscript . I am grateful to the National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office. for supplying the r�jor funding for conducting this research. Additional mo net ary support was provided by the Department of Forestry, Wildlif e & Fisheries, the Graduate Program in Ecology, and the Department of Psychology . tJumerous personnel of the Great Smoky �1ountains �Iational Park are to be commended not only for allowing me to study human-bear interactions but also for helping me lo cate panhandling bears and for recording data on sightings . iii iv 1 an deeply indebted to t�1e research <1ssistants \\rho not onlv worked tirelessly but also oacle the project Gost enjoyable: Diane fieenan, Janice Carnichael, ·�rcella Cranford, Anne Pierce, aml especially Jane Allen, \lho worked \viti1 me for three years in the field and subsequently helped with data compilation. \Ie were kindred spirits and became true friends. uanny Gray and Gene Hhitworth performed the scat analysis. Other members of the U.T. wildlife research team occasionally accompanied us in monitoring ursid activity throughout the night and in relocating panhandling bears. Christopher Eagar frequently brought us supplies and helped in data collection; his assistance and friendsJ.lip throughout the years are deeply appreciated. Charles and Virginia Eagar deserve special recognition for providing me an environnent within which to retreat and Hrite the first draft of this dissertation. I am truly grateful for their support as well as their belief in me and my work. I shall be eternally indebted to my parents and brother for their encouragement and continued monetary support during my sojourn in graduate school. They made many sacrifices so that I might fulfill a dream; without them it would not have been possible. Finally, I extend a very special note of appreciation to Michael Johnson, who always encouraged me during the final stages of preparing this document; his companionship and insight were invaluable. v To the panhandling bears, I express gratitude for all tl1ey have taugl1t me about patience and a�aptability. Per�aps t�e information gained throug� this researci1 can in sane way he beneficial to the�. A�STfu\CT A studv of panhandlin� black bears (Ursus anericanus), conducted in the Great Smokv Mountains ra tional Park from 1Q76 throu�h 1978, focused on estab lishing an ecolo?ical and behavioral profile of this segment of the population . Procedures included various photographic and written records . The panhandling contingent showed a preponderance of older females and younger males . Of 392 panhandling ses sions on 33 different bears , 43.9% involved aggression . Seven types of aggression were recorded and as signed numeric va lues based uoon apparent severity . Blow vocalization and charge were the most likelv to occur . Similarly , crowding by visitors was the most frequent preciPitator of ur sid aggression . Actual physical contact occurred in only 37 of the 624 aggressive acts recorded . The out come of these intersPecific interactions was dependent upon frequency of panhandling and individual diff erences among bears . }1ultiple regression analyses of setting factors and visitor acts showed that duration of the session , number of feeding incidents , and visitor acts that resulted in invasion of the bea r's individual space were the best predictors of ursid aggression . Furthermore, the level of aggression provided higher predictability than the mere numb er of aggressive acts . An examination of panhand ling strategies utilizing Judgment Analysis show ed that family units had the most similar strategies and that memb ers of the same sex tended to cluster together . vi v ii Feeding was the most common behavior exhibited by visitors. Seouential analvsis of events surroundin� a22ressive acts revealed that total visitor actions neaked i�mediatelv nreceding an\'ression and that afterward there was a decrease in interactional behaviors for both snecies . Film analvsis of 43 aggressive acts showed that the elements in the aggressive repertoire of black bears were no t extensive but that there was much variation in the topograohy of different tvpes of aggression . Panhandling black bears were atypical of the species in food habits and activitv natterns . Weight comparisons by sex-age class showed that panhandl ing bears were significantly heavier , possibly because unnatural foods supplemented the natural diet . The activity patterns of panhandlers were more diurnal than those of their backcountrv counterparts , indicating a change in their normally crenuscular pattern . �ocin�·iol:J0}C2l ·�ases for "anf1:1.nC:linr'T in �jcars The E11"lan Elern�nt in Panhandlin": . >='ocal ?oint: Creat Sr:1okv 'fountains Xational Park 11 II. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 1 2 III. STUDY SITES AND �ETBODS 14 Studv Sites 14 >let hods 14 Data sheets 16 Field notes 18 Photogranhv 19 Scat collection 19 ru. sr::v:- ..\r.r: nis�::>.nrnrn 2') Classification of r.rou�s 2() Pesults 21 Discussion . 21 V. SESSIO�S 0� I�DIVIDUAL REARS 26 Classification of Grouns 26 Results 26 Discussion . 27 VI. AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR 30 Classification of A�2ressive Behavior 30 Classification of Precioitatin� Factors 32 P.esults . · · · · · · 32 Tvpes of aggressive behavior and precipitating factors ......... 33 Resnonses of individual bears 39 Discussion .. 45 VII. THE nFLUENCE OF SETTING FACTORS AND VISITOR ACTS 59 Analysis . 59 Results 60 Discussion 67 VIII. PA�7lL<\�1)LING STRA.TEGIES 70 Analysis . 70 Results 71 Discussion 76 viii ix E. FIELD ;;oT:::S: roc:s 0'' r:;TEP.• \CTFY:S es . \Jo n-s eo ue rrt ia 1 Seauerrtial Desults .36 Durational analvsis Discriminant analvsis 88 Sequential analysis 92 Discussion . 104 110 Analvsi s . 110 Results 112 Discussion 120 XI . f()(JT) U:\0 ITS 126 Ar..3l''sis I 126 Analvsis II 120 Results 123 Analysis I 123 Ana lysis II 132 Discussion 136 XII. \·:EH;ET CO:·fPA!USO:TS 139 /malvsis . 139 Results lt;O T'iscussion 1 ') XIII. .\CTinTY T'ATTER�7S 143 Analvsis . 143 Results 144 Discussion 144 XIV. SlJ::!:>fARY A:m CO�-;CLUSIO:':S 152 LIT�R.\TeRE CITED 155 APPE�'DICES 169 APPENDIX r\ 170 AP'-'EXDIX E 179 VITA 190 LIST OF T.\;3LES ") "-• ;(umber of Panhandl ing sessions by ind ividual bear and year , GS?t:1P , 1977-1978 .••.... 28 3. Description and ranking bv apparent intens ity of seven tvpes of a�pression recorded for panhandling black bears , GS�t};P , 1977-1978 . 31 Freauencies of tvues of a��res sive behavior 34 exhibited bv Panhandling black bears , GS�J;TP, 1977-1973 . 5. Frenuencies o� precipitat factors for ag�ressive GS�fYP, 1 '177-1 hehavior of nanh::mcllir!g black hears , CJ78 .