The Influence of a Small Sanctuary on Survival Rates of Black Bears in North Carolina

Sanctuaries for black bears (Ursus americanus) were established in North Carolina in 1971 to protect breeding females and provide surplus bears for hunting. To test the efficacy of this management technique, we studied survival rates of 51 black bears captured from 1982-89 in and around Harmon Den Bear Sanctuary, North Carolina. We determined the proportion of daily locations that each bear spent off the sanctuary (POFF). We fit a Cox proportional hazard model to these data to determine which combinations of sex, age, and POFF most affected survival. The model selection procedure selected a 2 covariate model of POFF and age as the best model. This model and the mean POFF for each sex and age group indicated adult females had highest survival rates, followed by adult males, subadult females, and subadult males. Harmon Den Bear Sanctuary appears to protect adult females and produces subadult bears for recreational hunting.