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a4e7c00d-4b71-497a-96d5-321ba43a5995 Sociobiology, the Abridged Edition “An evolutionary event” wrote John Pfeiffer in the New York Times Book Review when Sociobiology was published in 1975, “announcing for all who can hear that we are on the verge of breakthroughs in the effort to understand our place in the scheme of things.” Praised by many and damned by some, Sociobiology provided the framework for a new science―the study of the biological basis for social behavior in every species, from the lowliest amoeba colony to modern human society. In this abridged edition, Edward O. Wilson trims his monumental work to its essential argument and most compelling examples. He retains the full basic structure of the original book, while eliminating the technical discussions and data summaries. Because of the unusual amount of interest and commentary it has generated, the final chapter on human social behavior remains virtually intact. The book has been completely reset to accommodate a convenient 8 1/2 x 11 format, and Sarah Landry's superb drawings of animal societies still accompany the text. New students and general readers can discover for themselves what sociobiology is all about and why there is so much furor surrounding it. Edward O. Wilson March 12, 1980 384 Pages:

JUST FOR LAUGHS Cartoons reprinted with permission from Dave Coverly at Speedbump.com Thanks Dave! Learn more about the bear in Eagles Nest Township named for Dave Learn more about Coverly the bear

October 23, 2024 Tolkkinen: Why I lost my fear of black bears A little curiosity and listening goes a long way toward understanding another creature. By Karen Tolkkinen The Minnesota Star Tribune October 23, 2024 at 7:00AM Lucky the bear was found begging for food as a cub near Wisconsin. He came within an hour of being euthanized, but found refuge at the North American Bear Center in Ely. (North American Bear Center) ELY, Minn. – Can you stand one more take on the “man versus bear” debate? You hear a lot of women saying they’d rather be alone in the woods with a bear, not a man, because they considered the man to be more dangerous. I always chose the man, because my interactions with men have generally been positive, and a man wandering through the woods seemed likely to be a hunter or a naturalist or just someone out enjoying nature. Someone reasonable. Someone more likely to harbor a save-the-maiden fantasy than a desire to harm. Bears, on the other hand, if they have it in their head to attack, there is little you could do but try to survive. A recent visit to Ely’s North American Bear Center changed my mind. Not that I think less of men, but that I think more of bears. Black bears, at least. The Bear Center provides refuge to three black bears, at least one of whom would have been otherwise euthanized. There’s Lucky, abandoned or orphaned as a cub, who was begging for food near Madison, Wis., and who came within an hour of being put down before a rescuer whisked him off to Ely. There’s Tasha, fat, sleek, and gorgeous, discovered in 2015 in Kentucky trying to nurse on her dead mother, who was believed to have been hit by a vehicle. And Holly, separated from her mother during an Arkansas fire, and who had slipped off to hibernate before our visit. The bears were fascinating, delicately lipping up cranberries and shelling out nuts with their back teeth during our visit. We learned that their sense of smell is seven times stronger than that of a bloodhound, and that they can smell through an organ on the roof of their mouths. In fact, sometimes they’ll stand erect and open their mouths – which looks threatening, but it’s really just to get a better sense of their surroundings, said Spencer Peter, assistant director and biologist at the center. Hollywood trains them to stand like that for movies, he said. “But they’ll dub in the sound.” The thing that most changed my mind about black bears was learning that North American Bear Center researchers have never been able to provoke an attack, not even from a mama bear with cubs. Lynn Rogers, the center’s founder who has been researching black bears for most of his 87 years, even tried to provoke an attack by picking up a cub, Peter said. “She still wouldn’t,” Peter said. “They were more likely to grab the other cubs and leave.” During our visit, a wildlife educator told our group that black bears have a prey, not predator, mindset. They were once fed upon by fierce predators like giant short-faced bears, dire wolves, and saber-toothed cats, which lived in North America for hundreds of thousands of years before going extinct about 10,000 years ago. “None of those animals could climb, so the black bear could flee up a tree,” Peter said. Ironically, the shy, timid black bears were the ones to survive, whereas the bolder bears succumbed to predators, Peter says. The shy bears passed their genes on to their offspring, resulting in today’s timid animals. Climbing a tree remains their go-to escape route. They’re also pretty easy to chase off. A billowing black plastic garbage bag will send them scampering from a campsite. It’s amazing how a little education is able to change a person’s mind about a perceived threat. Much of what we think we know about black bears wasn’t challenged until Rogers began doing his research. Bear attack stories make for sensational reading. Humans like to be scared. Fear sells. We like to have something to fight, something that keeps us on guard, something that makes us shudder. After all, as Peter points out, it’s more fun to tell about the bear that broke through your cabin window and ate all the sandwiches than about the bear that ran off into the brush the minute you pulled into your driveway. But bears suffer the price for the horror stories, sometimes ending up dead, although Peter thinks that the presence of the Bear Center has helped save their lives. People think that when bears pop their jaws or clack their teeth that they’re being aggressive, whereas it really indicates that they’re feeling anxious. When you learn that, your own fear melts. How can you hate or fear something that is so afraid of you? When fear subsides, compassion begins. Black bears do sometimes kill people. There are 750,000 in North America, and they kill less than one person per year on average. Most fatal black bear encounters take place in remote areas, by bears that may have never seen a human. You are more likely to die from bee or hornet stings or dog attacks, Peter says. Men ages 18 to 24 are 167 times more likely to kill someone than a black bear would be, the Bear Center says. So. Black bear versus man in the woods? You know, I would be comfortable with either. Karen Tolkkinen Columnist Karen Tolkkinen is a columnist for the Star Tribune, focused on the issues and people of greater Minnesota.

1d4f24d1-782d-44ca-bcdc-ab4ed90f62f3 < Back Eating Snow To get water, mothers ate snow. Previous Next

May 06, 2024 Forest Service imposes new food storage rules in Boundary Waters Some paddlers are upset over requirements and possible penalties. The Forest Service vows only warnings will be issued in the first year. By John Myers May 06, 2024 at 5:45 PM The U.S. Forest Service has imposed tough new rules on how campers must handle their food storage when in the Boundary Waters, with steep fines and even jail time possible for violators. Contributed / Wisconsin DNR DULUTH — The U.S. Forest Service is cracking down on how people store their food while camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, requiring very specific food hanging requirements or certified bear-proof lockers and threatening to impose stiff fines and even jail time on violators. The rules now demand what had been longstanding advice from the Forest Service on keeping bears away from campers' food. The new rules, in effect from March 1 to Nov. 30 each year, require across the entire BWCAW that “except while being prepared, consumed, or under on-site visual observance, all food, food containers, scented items (such as soap, lip balm, toothpaste) and refuse shall be suspended at least 12 feet above the surface of the ground and not less than 6 feet horizontally from the trunk of a tree, or stored in an Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee certified bear resistant container.” Link to Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Bear Resistant Products: https://igbconline.org/programs/bear-resistant-products/ PDF of IGBC Bear Resistant Products provided at the end of this article. The U.S. Forest Service is now mandating, and not just suggesting, how campers store their food packs on canoe trips into the BWCAW. Contributed / U.S. Forest Service Similar rules have been imposed seasonally before in specific areas where bears had been an issue, but never before across the entire wilderness for entire seasons. Officials said the rule is as much to protect bears as it is for humans. “Once a bear is rewarded with human food or garbage, it is likely to become habituated and continue the behavior, which could ultimately lead to the bear being dispatched,’’ Cheron Ferland, Superior National Forest biologist, said in Monday’s announcement. The rule states the order officially took effect on April 19, “and shall remain in effect until April 19th, 2026, or until rescinded, whichever occurs first.” The rule notes that “any violation of this prohibition is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.” The new rules were unveiled Friday to outfitters and other businesses who work with the Superior National Forest on BWCAW issues, and were exchanged widely on social media over the weekend, but were not made available to the general public until late Monday. Peter Marshall, communications director for the group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, said the Forest Service has the right intention to prevent human/bear encounters but that “it’s the draconian nature of the order that is wrongheaded.” Marshall called the rule “impractical” and notes that many seasoned veterans of BWCAW travel argue that hanging food is not the most effective way to deter bears. Marshall said keeping food sealed in plastic bags and 200 feet from tents often is enough to deter bears in the wilderness. “Six months in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both, and a misdemeanor on your record?" Marshall said. "For what? Not for drunk driving, which carries a similar penalty, but for not using a certified bear container, or for hanging it 11 rather than 12 feet off the ground. This is extreme. Friends of the Boundary Waters, and many other groups, have worked hard to make the wilderness more inviting to diverse groups of people, to open it to people who never went to the Boundary Waters. "Having this impractical order, that carries the very real threat of jail time or hefty fines, is a major setback," Marshall said. The Forest Service on Monday vowed to issue only warnings for violations of the new rule during the first season. “Our goal initially is to highlight the importance of all of us doing our due diligence to keep wildlife from becoming habituated," the agency noted in unveiling the rule. "Except for gross violations or repeated violations, we intend to issue warnings for the first year of the order. Fortunately, many BWCAW visitors are already practicing good food storage techniques. The concept isn’t new, we’re just approaching it as a season-long prevention effort, rather than reacting to incidents as they occur.” The U.S. Forest Service says it will issue only warnings for first-year violations of new food storage rules in the BWCAW. Steve Kuchera / 2020 file / Duluth Media Group Forest Service rangers have long warned BWCAW campers to make sure their food, cooking equipment, garbage — and anything that might smell like food to a bear — is secured on a rope high in the sky and far enough from trees to prevent bees from accessing it. Bears may also find anything with a strong or sweet odor attractive, such as toothpaste, lip balm, scented personal products, sunscreen and clothing with food odor. A bear can smell food wrappers inside a tent, forest officials note. A clean campsite is much less likely to catch the attention of bears in the area. Bears are excellent swimmers, so precautions must be taken on island sites as well. Bear-proof lockers or containers have become more common in recent years, hardened containers that can be moved or even tossed around by bears, but they generally can't gain access and give up trying. The National Park Service says nearly 500 products from more than 100 manufacturers are on the International Grizzly Bear Commission's list of bear-resistant products. They generally range from $50 to $150. Forest officials note that the blue barrels sometimes now used by BWCAW campers are not on the certified list and thus are not approved for BWCAW use. Because 2023 was a banner year for natural bear forage across the Northland, it’s expected more bear sows will have more bear cubs, and those bear groups will be out searching for food this spring and all summer. IGBC_240216_Certified_Products_List .pdf Download PDF • 1.38MB

cc18bfd4-df47-4efc-b2ae-650639295b3c SLOTH BEAR Back General Description: Sloth bears have a long shaggy, black coat with a white or yellow V shaped marking on their chest. Distribution: Sloth bears are found in Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan and Nepal. Habitat: Sloth bears are found in forested and grassland regions. Diet: Sloth bears feed mainly on termites and ants but also fruits, berries, grasses, seed pods, flowers, yams, eggs, honey, insect larvae, and other insects. Population: Fewer than 20,000 Length: 5 to 6 feet Height: 2.5 to 3 feet Weight: Males: 175 to 300 pounds, Females: 140 to 250 pounds Geographic Range https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5tNoqphcrg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j9qUN_n7uQ

b6c120d9-8275-4fae-b4a1-8e043d6a78f8 < Back Slide 37 of 83 < > A half century ago when foresters were deciding not to plant white pines, they were also doing something they did not realize would make it harder for natural seedlings. They were protecting the forest from fire. This kept fires from spreading and kept seedlings from being burned up, but it also made fires unnaturally infrequent.

082a152f-d212-470d-a691-0960d6dc395b < Back Jaw Clenching During Labor As labor began she clenched her jaws and flexed her head muscles. Previous Next

a7353bcd-38f5-47a7-9ed3-b0d0c6b76a47 BLACK BEAR DIET White Clover Trifolium repens May, June Spring Low growing, mat forming, herbaceous perennial forage species that grows throughout Minnesota, originally brought over to North America from Europe for forage for cattle. Blooms from May through October.

eb0c3a27-5401-4012-863c-c386ad2009b5 < Back Yearlings Suckling Yearlings suckled in the den every day, making this pulsing hum—even though they got little or no milk. In spring after emergence, some well-fed mothers resumed lactation and nursed their yearlings right up to the day of family breakup in May or June. Previous Next

August 22, 2023 The Conversation Neil Carter Associate Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of Michigan A federal policy could reduce instances of conflict between people and carnivores, like coyotes. Jason Klassi/iStock via Getty Images A video showing a close encounter between a hiker in Utah and a mountain lion defending her cubs went viral in 2020. The video, during which the hiker remained calm as the mountain lion followed him for several minutes, served as a visceral reminder that sharing the land with carnivores can be a complicated affair. For conservation scientists like me , it also underscored that Americans have a fraught relationship with large carnivores like wolves, bears and mountain lions. My colleagues and I have proposed a federal policy that, when combined with other initiatives, could allow for sustainable coexistence between people and carnivores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pg2CDCm34w In a 2020 viral video, a Utah hiker encounters a mountain lion on the trail. Warning – strong language. Major state and federal government efforts are underway to reintroduce grizzly bears to the Northern Cascades and gray wolves to Colorado. These are places where stable populations of these animals have not roamed for many decades. More human development and, in some cases, expanding carnivore populations have led to more encounters between humans and carnivores. Coyote attacks on pets are more common, alligator bites are on the rise in some regions, and the killing of livestock by wolves has spread. Increasing conflict with these species may unravel decades of conservation success . From conflict to coexistence To manage these risks, people too often default to the widespread killing of carnivores. In 2021 alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services euthanized nearly 70,000 bears, wolves, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes and foxes. In the same year, controversial laws passed in Idaho and Montana that substantially reduced wolf numbers because people perceive these animals as risks to livestock production and game species hunting. Thousands of animals die every year in wildlife killing contests that often target carnivores such as coyotes and bobcats. These contests are legal in more than 40 U.S. states – under the guise that they help with wildlife management and protect livestock. But research has found that extensive carnivore killing to reduce levels of conflict is largely ineffective , ethically tenuous and undermines their conservation . Instead, coexisting with carnivores can benefit both carnivores and people. For example, the presence of wolves and mountain lions lowers the frequency of vehicle collisions with deer, saving money and human lives. Foxes, likewise, reduce an abundance of small mammals that carry ticks, likely reducing cases of Lyme disease in humans. Sea otters maintain healthy kelp forests that support tourism and fisheries and capture carbon. Many carnivores’ presence on the landscape benefits people. Foxes, for example, eat rodents that may carry Lyme disease. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik However, the U.S. has no unified approach for making interactions with carnivores more peaceful in the spaces that people share with them. Shared spaces – like multiuse forests and grasslands, coastlines, croplands and even cities – constitute over 70% of the continental U.S. by one estimate . These spaces will grow more crowded as human development and population growth pushes people into greater contact with carnivores. Currently, however, the management of conflicts with carnivores is piecemeal across states and municipalities. It lacks sufficient resources and polarizes the public over how to manage these animals in the future. And mitigating conflict as a policy objective is a short-term and partial solution that doesn’t enable long-term coexistence. Policy for enabling coexistence A federal policy like the one my colleagues and I propose that sets goals for sharing spaces with carnivores could allow for coexistence between people and carnivores while also recognizing local priorities. While much of wildlife management takes place at the state level, having a federal policy framework could provide resources and incentives for states and communities to adopt specific coexistence strategies relevant to the carnivores in their area. Large-scale policy goals may include lowering conflicts, increasing human tolerance to risks and fostering self-sustaining carnivore populations. Coexistence strategies should prioritize using proven, nonlethal deterrence methods such as properly disposing of trash or other attractants, bringing pets inside, erecting barriers to separate livestock from carnivores in risky places and times, and working with guard animals such as dogs that are trained to protect herds from carnivores. These strategies not only reduce carnivores’ impact on human property and well-being but also facilitate carnivore recovery . Several local projects demonstrate that nonlethal deterrence programs work. In Montana’s Blackfoot watershed , natural resource managers and local residents coordinate the disposal of livestock carcasses away from ranches. This prevents grizzlies and wolves from approaching the ranches. The city of Durango, Colorado , has supplied its residents with automatically locking bear-resistant trash containers. These containers keep bears from damaging property or scaring residents while looking for food in them. A study found that these new trash containers reduced trash-related conflicts with bears by 60%. A bear in Anchorage, Alaska, sifts through trash. Some cities have issued their residents locking trash cans, which prevent bears from encroaching on local residences. AP Photo/Mark Thiessen Negative encounters with carnivores still occur in these cases, but now that the communities are collectively adapting to them, they are less severe. And these carnivores are less likely to be euthanized. Some states are also taking incremental steps toward coexistence. For example, to reduce animal suffering, New Mexico passed the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act in 2021 that bans the use of a trap, snare or poison to kill an animal on public land. In 2023, Maryland and Colorado authorized provisions that help fund provisions to prevent lethal encounters with black bears and gray wolves, respectively. A broader coexistence framework These local and state-level successes are encouraging, but not enough to address the issue at a broader, national scale. A federal coexistence policy could harness the insights from these individual communities’ coexistence efforts and encourage other communities to adopt these techniques. For example, members of universities, businesses, tribes, government and nongovernmental organizations and the public could come together at regional coexistence workshops to showcase their coexistence actions, receive support for new ideas and share tools and best practices. A federal policy could allow states and communities to try out high-risk, high-reward initiatives, like Pay for Presence programs. One such program, established in northern Mexico near the U.S. border in 2007, compensates landowners for the documented presence of jaguars on their properties. A federal policy might also facilitate the adoption of market-based solutions like predator-friendly meats. The predator-friendly certification enables ranchers who do not use lethal predator control to sell their meat products at a premium price. A federal coexistence policy could also support community outreach and education programs. Teaching communities about carnivore behavior can help them to avoid potentially risky situations , like jogging with a dog or leaving children unattended in mountain lion territory. By reducing negative encounters, these programs can enhance the adoption of nonlethal coexistence strategies, foster more positive attitudes toward carnivores and share the benefits carnivores offer humans . There are promising signs that the federal government and some states are starting to pay more attention to coexistence with carnivores. As the segment of the American public that views wildlife as deserving of rights and compassion grows, translating an ethic of coexistence into good policy could better align policy with public values.