Self-reported and observed behaviors during black bear viewing at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Abstract

Social norms are commonly used to investigate visitor beliefs about acceptable wildlife encounters in parks and protected areas. However, there is little information detailing if self-reported norms match actual behaviors. This study compared self-reported norms (n = 304) for viewing distances of adult and cub black bears with behavioral observations (n = 355) of actual encounters at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, USA. First, we conducted a crossover design to examine the impact of viewing different groupings of bears at varying distances on acceptability beliefs. Our design significantly affected self-reported, minimum acceptable distance thresholds for an adult bear with cubs (Sequence 1 = 40.69 m; Sequence 2 = 48.24 m). Next, we found self-reported thresholds strongly differed from actual behaviors: 45 % of observations documented visitors closer than 40.69 m from bears. These findings illustrate the value of mixed-methods approaches to understand wildlife viewing behaviors and inform management actions.