White‐Tailed Deer Baiting Altered Black Bear Site Use but Not Movements or Range Size
Nathaniel H. Wehr, Nicholas L. Fowler, Todd M. Kautz, Tyler R. Petroelje, Dean E. Beyer, Jerrold L. Belant

TL;DR
Black bears in Michigan visited bait sites more often and stayed longer when bait was available, but their overall movement patterns and home ranges remained unchanged.
Contribution
Demonstrates that black bears adapt to human-provided food without altering their broader movement behaviors.
Findings
Bait sites were visited 3 times more and used 11 times longer during treatment periods.
Bait site visits became more nocturnal during treatment periods.
Bait use did not affect black bear movement metrics like range size or step length.
Abstract
Intentional anthropogenic food subsidies (i.e., baiting and supplemental feeding) can have profound individual‐level effects on wildlife. We assessed the influence of bait sites targeting white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) on nontarget American black bears ( Ursus americanus ) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, USA. We used black bear GPS collar data collected during July–August 2013–2019 to assess differences in recursive site use metrics (i.e., number, duration, and time between visits) and movement metrics (i.e., range size, step length, and turning angle) using a before–after control‐impact design. We compared site use at 116 baited and 81 unbaited control sites before (pretreatment) and after (treatment) bait applications. We compared movements between 32 GPS‐monitored bear‐years (i.e., individual bears monitored during July–August of each calendar year) where bait was within…
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Taxonomy
TopicsWildlife Ecology and Conservation · Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation · Ecology and biodiversity studies
