BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF RELOCATING GRIZZLY BEARS IN THE YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM

Relocating grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) from human/bear conflict situa tions has been a standard management procedure. Using data from Yellow stone National Park, we present components of situations that may affe ct the outcome of a relocation. Survival rates of transported bears we re lower (l(x) = 0.83) (P = 0.001) than those not transported (l(x) = 0.89). Survival was largely affected by whether the bear returned to t he capture site (P = 0.029). Return rate was most affected by distance transported (P = 0.012) and age-sex group (P = 0.014). Return rates d ecreased at distances greater than or equal to 75 km, and subadult fem ales returned least (P = 0.050) often. Because of low survival and hig h return rates, transporting grizzly bears should be considered a fina l action to eliminate a conflict situation. However, transporting fema les must be considered a viable management technique because transport s of some individuals have resulted in contributions to the population through successful reproduction.