Big enough for bears? American black bears at heightened risk of mortality during seasonal forays outside Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario - Research summary

Aug 23, 2026

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Protected areas can offer limited protection to wide-ranging carnivores such as bears, especially when park size is small or animals live near boundaries where harvest-related mortality is more likely. Using GPS or Very High Frequency radiocollars, 72 American black bears were tracked from 2006–2014 to estimate overall and cause-specific mortality, including whether risk changed when leaving Algonquin Provincial Park (APP) or during years with low natural food availability. Mortality was 15% in APP, with harvest mortality double all other causes combined; bears were far more likely to die outside the park.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study design and tracking

Mortality estimates and causes

Effects of food availability and sex differences

Harvest patterns and landscape-scale implications

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [https://www. researchgate. net/publication/322464575](https://www. researchgate. net/publication/322464575) Big enough for bears? American black bears at heightened risk of mortality during seasonal forays outside Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario Article in Ursus · November 2017 DOI: 10.2192/URSU-D-16-00021 .1 CITATION 1 READS 137 6 authors, including: Martyn Ernest Obbard Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry 120 PUBLICATIONS 2,043 CITATIONS Erica Newton Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada 15 PUBLICATIONS 102 CITATIONS Brent Patterson Trent University 101 PUBLICATIONS 1,871 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Factors affecting human-bear conflict View project Trends in body condition and growth patterns of polar bears in Southern Hudson Bay View project All content following this page was uploaded by Martyn Ernest Obbard on 18 January 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Big enough for bears? American black bears at heightened risk of mortality during seasonal forays outside Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario Martyn E. Obbard1,3 , Erica J. Newton1 , Derek Potter1 , Andrew Orton1,4 , Brent R. Patterson1 , and Brad D. Steinberg2 1 Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, DNA Building, Trent University, 2140 E Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada 2 Ontario Parks, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 300 Water Street, 3rd Floor S, Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5, Canada Abstract: Protected areas may provide insufﬁcient protection for carnivores such as bears (Ursidae) with large home ranges and extensive seasonal movements. Even in protected areas, harvest can bethe main cause of mortality if parks are small or individuals live close to the boundary. At >7,600 km2 , Algonquin Provincial Park (APP) is the largest protected area in southern Ontario, Canada, yet wolves (Canis lycaon c.f.) experienced increased mortality when leaving APP to hunt white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) . American black bears (Ursus americanus; hereafter, bears) also undertake seasonal movements, and may incur increased risk of harvest related mortality if they leave the park. We ﬁtted 72 bears with Global Positioning System or Very High Frequency radiocollars during 2006–2014 to determine overall and cause-speciﬁc mortality rates, and whether risk of mortality changed when bears left APP or during years of low natural food availability. Further, we compared the abundance of resident bears with harvest rates in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) surrounding APP to determine whether harvest was higher in areas surrounding the park compared with WMUs farther from the park boundary. Hazard analysis showed annual mortality for radiocollared bears in APP was 15% . Harvest mortality was double that of all other causes combined. Bears were 7 times more likely to die outside the park. Years of lower natural food availability inside the park, or higher red oak (Quercus rubra) availability outside the park did not signiﬁcantly alter the risk of mortality. Male bears were 6 times more likely to be harvested than females, and 4 times more likely to die from other causes. High harvests of bears in WMUs near APP contrasted with low abundance of resident bears, suggesting that APP acts asa source population for harvest that occurs near park boundaries. Meaningful maintenance of the integrity of bear populations in protected areas should be undertaken atthe landscape scale. Key words: Algonquin Provincial Park, American black bear, hazard analysis, mortality, Ontario, park, protected areas, survival, Ursus americanus DOI: 10 .2192/URSUS-D-16-00021 .1 Ursus 28(2):182–194 (2017) For large carnivores living in protected areas, the risk of

FAQs

Why might protected areas provide insufficient protection for bears?

Protected areas may be too small relative to bears’ large home ranges and seasonal movements, increasing exposure to harvest or human-related risks outside boundaries.

How was mortality risk assessed in this study?

Seventy-two American black bears were fitted with GPS or Very High Frequency radiocollars from 2006–2014 to determine overall and cause-specific mortality.

What did the study find about harvest mortality and where bears died?

Harvest mortality was double all other causes combined, and bears were about seven times more likely to die outside Algonquin Provincial Park than inside.

Aug 23, 2026

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