The Grizzly Bears of Yellowstone: their ecology in the Yellowstone Ecosystem, 1959-1992

Abstract

Review: The Grizzly Bears of Yellowstone: their ecology in the Yellowstone ecosystem, 1959-1992. By John J. Craighead, Jay S. Sumner, and John A. Mitchell Reviewed by Tom John Idaho Division of Environmental Quality Craighead, John J., Jay S. Sumner, and John A. Mitchell. The Grizzly Bears of Yellowstone: their ecology in the Yellowstone ecosystem, 1959- 1992. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1995. 535 pp. US $100 cloth ISBN: 1-55963-456-1. John Craighead and his colleagues report on grizzly research conducted over a third of a century. This big volume is organized in two parts. The first part deals with the pioneering study initiated in 1959 by John and his brother, Frank C. Craighead, Jr. The second part reports on bear research conducted in the Yellowstone ecosystem from 1974-1992. Concluding chapters assess the status of the grizzly in the early 1990's and provide the authors' critique of the federal plan for recovery of grizzly populations in the contiguous United States. The gap in this chronology represents a period between the forced termination of the Craighead study, due to conflicts with the National Park Service, and the initiation of work by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Management Team that was formed in response to widespread criticism of Park Service policies and management approaches. In a historical perspective, the authors document the slowly rising numbers of grizzlies in Yellowstone during the twentieth century in response to growing quantities of food in the form of garbage created by human visitors. Garbage dumps are characterized as ecocenters , defined as seasonal concentrations of high-energy food, which attract large numbers of bears. Aside from aesthetic considerations, the authors argue that the Yellowstone dumps were no different ecologically than concentrations of migrating salmon that attract bears in Alaska and elsewhere. The social hierarchy that formed annually during the early summer, allowing these powerful animals to co-exist in dense aggregations, is carefully described. Chapters on reproductive biology, rearing of offspring, population dynamics, food habits, and patterns of mortality, provide rich detail on the natural history of this species, much of it first