Photo by Ivan Seryodkin, WCS.
Previously isolated under a blanket of military secrecy, Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula is now increasingly under pressure from poaching, poorly regulated hunting and resource exploitation. The future of the Kamchatka brown bear population balances delicately on a fulcrum where management choices made in the next few years will determine if Kamchatka will become a model of biodiversity conservation, or one of the many exploited frontiers of the world. In order to make wise and effective management decisions local agencies need support, guidance, and most of all, good biological information.
Since 2002 WCS has used bears as a lens to focus attention on the most critical aspects of biodiversity conservation on Kamchatka.
Research
By using GPS collars to study a number of aspects of brown bear ecology, WCS has obtained the best data ever collected on brown bears not only in Kamchatka, but in all of Russia. Data from our first two GPS collars were groundbreaking, showing that, for example, brown bears maintain home ranges 10 times larger than previously estimated by local biologists. This kind of information is critical to addressing conservation and management questions more effectively.
In collaboration with Alaska Fish and Wildlife, WCS also is collecting tooth, hair, and tissue samples from trophy bears killed on Kamchatka. We use teeth to estimate the ages of the harvested bears, which will allow us to determine whether the average age has decreased because of extensive hunting pressure targeted at older, larger animals. Genetic analysis of tissue samples, in turn, will help to determine if there is adequate gene flow among the bears of the peninsula.
In cooperation with the Kamchatka Hunting Department, WCS has instituted protocols to collect and monitor data on bear-human conflicts, poaching activity and trophy hunting. The hope is that by reviewing historical data and trends, together we will be better able to direct future management and conservation actions.
WCS has also conducted the first ever mark-recapture population estimate in Russia, with an aim to provide different scientifically rigorous methods of censusing bears. Other research on general bear ecology includes monitoring salmon consumption rates, vegetation forage, denning characteristics, as well as the social dynamics of bears around salmon streams.
Education
The people of Kamchatka have very little access to good ecological information about the bears that are so abundant on the peninsula they call home. Many Kamchatkans, even trained biologists and wildlife mangers, exhibit a strong fear and apathy towards bears. WCS has identified lack of information and misinformation about bears as a potential conservation threat, and is working to address this issue. Our brown bear education program has been distributed to school boards throughout the peninsula in the form of “bear education kits,” and has been recognized as a potential source of guidance and materials for the Kamchatka Department of Education’s ongoing development of primary school ecology curricula.
Brown Bear Working Group
In 2006 WCS hosted a meeting of hunting managers, Russian and international bear biologists and NGOs, which led to the development of a cooperative working group to address all aspects of the brown bear’s future in Kamchatka.
Interagency working groups are almost unheard of in Russia. Using models based on the collaborative management of grizzly bears in Yellowstone and Canada, WCS in association with WWF Kamchatka is directing the Brown Bear Working Group to develop concrete strategies for bear conservation in the future. Meetings are held regularly, with representation from all branches of government (including the governor) and industry. This group represents one of brightest hopes for making effective changes for bear conservation in Kamchatka, as well as providing a model for the rest of Russia.