Bear populations have been growing all across North America, bringing them in closer and more regular contact with humans each year. That trend is putting bears at far greater risk than humans, according to a new study from the University of Alberta, led by Clayton Lamb. Lamb and his colleagues tracked 2,669 grizzly bears across British Columbia between 1979 and 2019 and found that the mortality rate for bears who lived near humans was 7.5 times higher than it was for those that lived in the wild. In wild areas with less frequent human contact, 26 out of every 30 bears made it to 14 years-old, according to a report in Inverse. According to Lamb and his team, bears have already begun gradually adapting to these new threats by engaging in more nocturnal activity, presumably to avoid encounters with humans.

Source: Daily Mail July 09, 2020 01:21 UTC