Abstract
Abstract Western Maryland's population of Ursus americanus (American Black Bear; hereafter Black Bear) was nearly extirpated by the 1950s but recovered to 326 individuals by 2005. A knowledge gap currently exists regarding home-range dynamics of this recovering population. One of the most basic questions that managers wish to understand is how much space these Black Bears are using. To provide this information, we examined the home-range dynamics of 18 adult female Black Bears in western Maryland from 2006 to 2007 using GPS collars. We predicted that home-range estimates in our study population would be similar to that of surrounding states because Black Bear populations have been recovering for the past 50 years throughout Appalachia. Fixed-kernel estimates for spring, summer, and fall home ranges were 8.9 km2, 15.4 km2, and 20.7 km2, respectively. Fall and summer home ranges were similar, and both were larger (P < 0.10) than spring home ranges. Solitary females had spring home ranges 6.9 times larger th...
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