First wildlife damage prevention booklet for Turkey (HBC studies)

We prepared the first wildlife damage prevention booklet for Turkey in  the  Kaçkar Mountains Project during 2011. It has been delivered to all Game and Wildlife Province Directors, beekeepers and their associations in province centers. We hope that it will be an useful guide in human-bear conflict (HBC) studies in Turkey.  It includes human-bear conflict studies in Kastamonu, Bartın, Bolu, Artvin, Rize provinces of Turkey and suggest practical solutions with implementation and demonstrations.

You can download the damage prevention booklet (in Turkish) by clicking the cover page at below.

Brown Bears on the Air in Artvin, Turkey

Five years passed after radio-collaring the first wild brown bear in Turkey. Such study promoted new research and findings. Our brown bear research continued in the region as a part of the Kaçkar Mountains Sustainable Forest Use and Conservation Project in Artvin. Brown bears took special attention in our wildlife studies because of intensive human-bear conflict issues and lack of scientific data in the region. Between 2007 and 2010 electric fences were introduced to the region as the most effective tool for reducing the conflict. Local awareness was increased through local and national media or press. There was lack of scientific information on the home range and habitat use of brown bears in the region. The view was that bears were not roaming around much but rather spending most of their time around villages. To understand better the ecology and movements of brown bears, we fitted bears with GPS-GSM telemetry collars.

 In 2010 and 2011, during three capture session in Yusufeli, Artvin province, we collared 7 brown bears (5 Male-2 Female) by using Aldrich foot snares. One male (11 years-old, 135 kg) was captured in May and other four (3 years-old 75 kg male, 9 years-old female 123 kg, 7 years-old female with cub of the year 85 kg, 5 years-old male 160 kg ) were captured in September. Captured bears were immobilized with a mixture of Zoletil and Medetomidine using a Dist-inject capture rifle and blow pipe. All vital rates were monitored during anesthesia.

The most interesting captured brown bear was one female with a cub of the year without her right foot. She was probably captured in a snare by a local trapper but escaped. Unfortunately a collar worn by the 11 years-old male brown bear dropped after 40 days. As results of this study, home range and habitat use data of brown bears in Turkey will be produced. This study will provide information on brown bear ecology for local and national wildlife authorities to understand human-bear conflict issues.

Acknowledgments: We would like to thank to the National Parks Province Directory of Artvin and Wildlife Division of General Directory of National Parks in Ankara for their collaboration in the Kaçkar Mountains project. I would also like to thank the veterinarian M. Akıllı and other personnel in the abattoir of Yusufeli for providing bait and technical information.
Published in I.Bear Newsletter November 2010 issue.