Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 13

Grizzly Glossary
Throughout this special issue, there are several words you
may need to know to have the best understanding of the topic.
The following terms may appear in the issue.

Attractant - Anything that emits an odor or provides
food a grizzly bear may seek out.
Aggressive-defensive behavior - The bear is
usually defending its cubs, food or space. It breaks off
the aggressive behavior once the threat is minimized.
Bear jams - Where groups of people gather along
roadways to view grizzly bears.
Boar - Male grizzly bear.
Cub or cub of the year - Grizzly bear offspring
through its first year of life.
DMA - Demographic Monitoring Area, which is the
core of the bear's biological and socially suitable
habitat.
Estrus - A recurring period of sexual receptivity and
fertility in many female mammals.
Food conditioned - This occurs when a bear
receives a significant food reward of human foods
such as garbage, camp food, pet food or processed
livestock food, changing it's behavior to actively seek
these foods.
Genetic connectivity - When neighboring populations exchange individuals and gene flow is achieved
through reproduction of immigrants and their
descendants. Genetic connectivity helps populations
maintain or increase genetic diversity and reduce
inbreeding potential.
Grizzly bear-human conflicts - Incidents where

bears damage property, obtain anthropogenic foods,
damage or obtain garden and orchard fruits, vegetables or beehives or kill or injure humans or livestock.

NCDE - Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem;
Grizzly bear population in Montana directly north/
northwest of the GYE population of grizzly bears.

GYE - Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; this includes
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and
adjacent federal, state and private lands in portions
of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The GYE is
geographically defined as the Yellowstone Plateau and
surrounding mountain ranges above 1500m. The GYE
contains the headwaters of three major continentalscale river systems: the Missouri-Mississippi,
Snake- Columbia and Green-Colorado.

Predatory behavior - A bear displays this behavior
if it is keenly focused on you, exhibits bold behavior
and no signs of stress. The bear sees you as a food
source and can be extremely dangerous.

Habituated - A bear is classified as this when it does
not display avoidance behavior around humans or in
human use areas such as camps, residential areas or
around people in general.
Hyperphagia - A period of time in late summer/
early fall where grizzly bears increase their feeding
behavior in order to obtain enough fat stores prior to
hibernation.
IGBST - Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team,
which is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and
biologists responsible for long-term monitoring
and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem. It was established in 1973 by
the Department of the Interior.
LCS - Large Carnivore Section. A statewide work unit
within the Wildlife Division of the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department responsible for the science-based
management and conflict resolution for mountain
lions, bears and wolves in Wyoming.

Relocation - The capture and movement by management authorities of a bear involved in a grizzly
bear-human conflict to a preapproved release site.
Removal - The capture and lethal removal or placement of a bear in an authorized public zoological or
research facility.
Sow - Female grizzly bear.
Stress behavior - A bear may yawn, moan, woof,
pop its teeth, swat the ground or even bluff charge
to communicate its stress level.
Subadult - A bear that is independent from its
mother and siblings but has not yet gained adult
resident status of the population, usually from 3 to
5 years old.
Sustainable mortality - The Interagency Grizzly
Bear Study Team annually evaluates grizzly bear
mortality to ensure a recovered population based on
preapproved mortality thresholds. Sustainable mortality reflects that mortality rates are not negatively
impacting the grizzly bear population.
Yearling - A bear between 1 and 2 years old.
A mature grizzly bear forages in an open meadow beneath the
jagged peaks of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park.
Grizzly bear sightings in the park have become much more common
over the past decade and it has become one of the best places in
the lower 48 states to see and photograph a grizzly bear.
(Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)

Wyoming Wildlife | 13

Wyoming Wildlife magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wyoming Wildlife magazine