Bear numbers in Kodiak improve after decline

A recently completed study shows that southwest Kodiak’s bear population is on the rise after seeing a significant drop in 2010.

KMXT reports the bears were studied through a partnership between the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and the University of Montana. Will Deacy and his colleagues studied several streams in southwest Kodiak over a four-year period to track how bears respond to salmon runs.

Deacy found that a bear’s mobility is crucial to its diet. He says bears are able to consume salmon for longer durations when they move to several sites and experience the different spawning populations.

Deacy attributes the 2010 bear decline to a lack of nutritional resources.

He says warmer weather over the last two years has been good for salmon runs and berry growth.

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