The total number of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Europe is presently about 50,000 (about 14,000 outside Russia), within an area of more than 2.5 million km (800,000 km outside Russia). About 37,500 bears are found in the northeastern European population; 8,100 in the Carpathian Mountains; 2,800 in the Alps–Dinaric–Pindos; 1,000 in Scandinavia; 520 in the Rila–Rhodope Mountains; 200 in the Star...

To further elucidate the migration history of the brown bears (Ursus arctos) on Hokkaido Island, Japan, we analyzed the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of 35 brown bears from Hokkaido, the southern Kuril Islands (Etorofu and Kunashiri), Sakhalin Island, and the Eurasian Continent (continental Russia, Bulgaria, and Tibet), and those of four polar bears. Based on these sequences, we ...

Brown bears are recorded from Ireland during both the Late Pleistocene and early-mid Holocene. Although most of the Irish landmass was covered by an ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Irish brown bears are known to have hybridized with polar bears during the Late Pleistocene, and it is suggested that the Irish brown bear population did not become extinct but instead persisted in s...

Polar bears are an arctic, marine adapted species that is closely related to brown bears. Genome analyses have shown that polar bears are distinct and genetically homogeneous in comparison to brown bears. However, these analyses have also revealed a remarkable episode of polar bear gene flow into the population of brown bears that colonized the Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof islands (ABC isla...

Logistically demanding and expensive wildlife surveys should ideally yield defensible estimates. Here, we show how simulation can be used to evaluate alternative survey designs for estimating wildlife abundance. Specifically, we evaluate the potential of instrument-based aerial surveys (combining infrared imagery with high-resolution digital photography to detect and identify species) for estim...

The three species of bears inNorthAmerica, polarbears (UrsusmaritimusPhipps, 1774), brownbears (Ursus arctos L., 1758), and black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780), have differentiated morphologies and nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. An exception is a paraphyletic mitochondrial DNA relationship and some nuclear gene lineages common to polar bears and a population of brown bears from isla...

This is a Forum article commenting on: Ripple, W. J., Beschta, R. L., Fortin, J. K., & Robbins, C. T. (2014) Trophic cascades from wolves to grizzly bears in Yellowstone. Journal of Animal Ecology, 83, 223-233. Comparisons Ripple et al. (2014) used to demonstrate increased fruit availability and consumption by grizzly bears post-wolf reintroduction are flawed and tenuous at best. Importantly, a...

The purpose of this study was to examine how coexist with black bears in Ishikawa Prefecture, where a record number appeared the autumn 2020, and understand current risk perception coping behavior prefectural residents, which could serve as basis for formation coexisting society. In line studyʼs objectives, we conducted questionnaire survey using LINE, has high penetration rate, conduct efficie...