Land use and Behavioral Patterns of Brown Bears in the South-Eastern Romanian Carpathian Mountains: A Case Study of Relocated and Rehabilitated Individuals

Abstract

Abstract Although brown bears are not drastically threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation at the present, the socioeconomic development in Romania is proceeding rapidly and already came along with noticeable changes in landscape. Human-bear conflicts though exist for decades, requiring proper management and related research findings. We analyzed the habitat use on landscape level of 8 GPS-collared bears between 2008 and 2011. According to the type of human intervention we grouped our study animals into four classes: (1) non-relocated, nonrehabilitated; (2) relocated, non-rehabilitated; (3) non-relocated, rehabilitated; (4) relocated, rehabilitated. We tried to respond if bear types exhibit varied responses to landscape level habitat use by examining home range sizes and occurrence in the proximity of human settlements, defined as High Potential Conflict Areas (HPCA). We tested the effect of age and sex on presence versus absence and on the time spent in this buffer area. Home rang sizes calculated with the minimum convex polygon varied substantially among bears and types but less for the 95% kernel estimators. Between 50.9% and 94.7% of all bear locations were in forest areas and shrubland. Agricultural fields were frequented moderately, urban areas were practically avoided. But bear presence remarkably increased within the HPCA, in bear type 1 up to 70%. There was no significant difference between relocated and rehabilitated bears (type 2 and 3), both being more present outside the buffer area. Bears of type 4 behaved wary and approached urban areas less frequently. Females tend to stay further away from human activities, whereas males did not have a special preference. Adults frequented more often and remained longer inside the buffer zone than subadults, which were four rehabilitated animals out of total five.