Grizzly Bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Grizzly bears on the North Slope of Alaska, from the Beaufort Sea
coast to the Brooks Range, are at their northernmost limit of their range.
The grizzly bear densities are relatively low and the bears feed on a
variety of foods including roots and berries in the appropriate season,
scavenged carcasses, caribou calves, Arctic ground squirrels and human
foods and waste.
Studies of the grizzly bear populations using Prudhoe oil fields showed a greater than average mortality among young bears because their dependence upon human foods made them more vulnerable to hunters along the Dalton Highway and to so called "defense of life and property" killings.
Grizzly bears in the Arctic Refuge travel from their mountain home ranges down to the coastal plain of the refuge (the area proposed for development) to prey on newborn caribou calves. None of the other North Slope grizzly bears have this same movement pattern, including those found using the Prudhoe Bay area. A disruption of the traditional caribou migration to these calving areas would likely have serious repercussions on the grizzly bear population as well.
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