Grizzly bears are fascinating, intelligent, and sentient animals who often get a bad rap because on occasion they will harm and kill humans who trespass into their homes.1,2 Of course, bear-human encounters can be tragically bad news for the humans, but they are very rare given the number of times bears could actually attack wayward humans who bother or surprise them.
Bears also display unique personalities and the only way we can get a credible picture of who they actually are and how they live is to do long-term studies of known individuals. This is what Dr. Bruce McLellan has done and he writes about this work in his outstanding book Grizzly Bear Science and the Art of a Wilderness Life: Forty Years of Research in the Flathead Valley.
I'm pleased Bruce could answer a few questions about his incredibly important book, perhaps the longest uninterrupted wildlife research project done by one individual, in which he weaves in the latest science with many stories about these magnificent ursines and their family lives. Coexisting with grizzly bears into the future will be an increasing challenge and require a deep understanding of these large carnivores and what factors make their populations tick.
Marc Bekoff: Why did you write this book?
Bruce McLellan: For a couple of reasons, I thought I had a story that some people would be interested in. First, it is one of, or perhaps the longest uninterrupted study of, a large animal by a single individual. Second, I don't know of any other wildlife researcher who lived in a remote study area for years, built a log home, and had and raised a family there. Also, the study was ultimately paid for by citizens of Canada and the U.S. so I thought they should be able to learn about the work in a format easier to understand than journal papers. I also wanted to help people better understand grizzly bears and how to not be overly fearful of them — and how we can more wisely coexist with them.
MB: How does the book relate to your background?
BM: The book is about what I did and learned over the past 45 years so it is pretty well my entire background and life interest. I'm not a journalist writing about what other people did. This is all first-hand reporting, not a second hand interpretation.
MB: Who do you hope to reach with this book?
BM: The main audience are people with an interest in knowing more about bears, wildlife science, conservation, and living in a remote area. It's for people who want a mentally stimulating book with a mix of bear and human stories.
MB: What are some of the major topics you consider and some of your findings?
BM: Generally, the book integrates animal behavior and population ecological theory and methods with grizzly bear research data and interpretation. It also integrates how a family living in the Flathead went about doing the research. In some ways it is also a 45-year history and development of wildlife research methods and technological change.
When I began the study, the general belief was that grizzly populations needed vast areas of pure wilderness to survive. My work, and that of others such as researchers in Yellowstone, have found grizzlies to be very intelligent and adaptable as well as highly individualistic. They can make a living in many ways. But we also found out that in most areas, almost all bears that survive their first year will end up being killed by people. We know where and how they die and the challenge is now reducing death rates and we have had some success. Once human-caused death rates are reduced, as we have seen in many areas, then populations increase to where food becomes the major limiting factor. In areas with an abundance of plant bear foods, then bears focus on eating plants (roots, herbs, nuts, berries) and there is little meat consumed (unless there are spawning salmon). Where plant foods are not as abundant, then bears spend more effort preying on animals. The abundance of most high-energy foods such as nuts and berries as well as migratory caribou vary among years and so cub survival and reproduction also varies.
Finally, grizzly bears are not interested in hurting or killing people. By far most attacks are due to people surprising bears at close range. Where people are common, such as rural properties or popular trails, attacks are very rare as bears know people are near so are not surprised. Unfortunately, there are very rare exceptions and these individual cases are not well understood.
MB: How does your book differ from others concerned with some of the same topics?
BM: First, it's written in a format somewhere between a science textbook about bears primarily for other scientists and a more general story book written by people who have never done a major bear study themselves. It includes the latest bear science but in a format that non-scientists can follow.
MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about who these amazing beings truly are and what they want and need from us they will be more open to developing and maintaining a relationship that is a win-win for the bears and the humans?
MB: Yes, this is a major goal of the book. People who read the book should learn a lot about grizzly bears and how we, as a society, can coexist with them without making major sacrifices in our lifestyles or economics.
References
In conversation with Dr. Bruce McLellan, a wildlife research ecologist who has just completed his 43rd field season studying the grizzly bear population in southeastern British Columbia and his 15th season on populations in southwestern BC. Over this period he has followed the lives of hundreds of grizzly bears, many from birth all the way to their death in their late twenties or thirties. Bruce was previously president of the International Association for Bear Research and Management and co-chair of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group, and now is the Redlist authority for this group of international scientists.
1) Bekoff, Marc. What Do Bears Know and Feel? Grizzly Bear Expert Explains Who These Carnivores Really Are; Hunting Grizzlies For Fun is Unscientific and Unethical; Yellowstone Kills Blaze, a Bear Who Attacked Off-Trail Hiker.
2) Mangelsen, Thomas D. Grizzly 399: The World's Most Famous Mother Bear. Rizzoli, 2023.
Bryja, Gosia. (2023). A Bear is not just a Bear: Recognizing the Individual in Wildlife Conservation. Medium.
Wu, Katherine J. Grizzly Bears Are Mostly Vegan: But humans made them more carnivorous. The Atlantic, January 10, 2024.
How Wildlife Personalities Affect Conservation Efforts; Colorado Wolves Receive Mixed Hellos and Muddy Media; Wolves and Cows: The Mindset of Coexistence and Sentience.
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