Conflicts of Grizzly Bear with Humans
Grizzlies are considered by some experts to be the most aggressive bears even by the standards of brown bears. Aggressive behavior in grizzly bears is favored by numerous selection variables. Unlike the smaller black bears, adult grizzlies are too large to escape danger by climbing trees, so they respond to danger by standing their ground and warding off their attackers. Increased aggressiveness also assists female grizzlies in better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age. Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, being responsible for 70% of fatal injuries to humans. Historically, bears have competed with other large predators for food, which also favors increased aggression.
Grizzly bears normally avoid contact with people. In spite of their obvious physical advantages and many opportunities, they almost never view humans as prey; bears rarely actively hunt humans. Most grizzly bear attacks result from a bear that has been surprised at very close range, especially if it has a supply of food to protect, or female grizzlies protecting their offspring. In such situations, property may be damaged and the bear may physically harm the person.
Exacerbating this is the fact that intensive human use of grizzly habitat coincides with the seasonal movement of grizzly bears. An example of this spatiotemporal intersection occurs during the fall season: grizzly bears congregate near streams to feed on salmon when anglers are also intensively using the river. Some grizzlies bears appear to have learned to home in on the sound of hunters' gunshots in late fall as a source of potential food, and inattentive hunters have been attacked by bears trying to appropriate their kills.
Increased human-bear interaction has created ‘problem bears’, which are bears that have become adapted to human activities or habitat. Aversive conditioning, a method involving using deterrents such as rubber bullets, foul-tasting chemicals or acoustic devices to teach bears to associate humans with negative experiences, is ineffectual when bears have already learned to positively associate humans with food. Such bears are translocated or killed because they pose a threat to humans. The B.C. government kills approximately 50 problem bears each year and overall spends more than one million dollars annually to address bear complaints, relocate bears and kill them.
It is imperative for all campers in areas inhabited by grizzly to maintain a clean campsite. Even oil from food cooked outdoors can attract a bear. Reports have indicated that something as innocuous as a tube of lip balm can entice a bear to come near a campsite in search of food. A bear accustomed to finding food around campsites will usually return to those sites. Park rangers may at this time decide that the bear has become a threat to campers, and kill it. For back-country campers, hanging food between trees at a height unreachable to bears is a common procedure, although some grizzlies can climb and reach hanging food in other ways. An alternative to hanging food is to use a bear canister.
Traveling in groups of six or more can significantly reduce the chance of bear-related injuries while hiking in bear country.
Hunting
Trophy hunting causes an imbalance between the male and female sexes, since older males are primarily sought to be hunted for their size. The hunting of older males creates a gender imbalance within an area specific population. The killing of older male bears in their own territory allows other males to migrate in and claim the late bear's territory. Older male bears will have had cubs with existing female bears in the region. This may cause the newly migrated male bear to become potentially infanticidal towards cubs of the resident females and the late male bear. Generally females try to avoid these immigrant males causing a reduction in the female's reproduction rate to approximately three to four cubs per mating season.