Of the 29 brown bear dens surveyed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Anthony Crupi last week, most still held bruins in or nearby.

On April 3, Crupi conducted an aerial survey to search for collared bears and analyze denning rates. He located 16 bears using GPS collars he had affixed in the fall as part of a five-year research study.

“We tracked 16 GPS-collared bears and found eight were still in their excavated or rock cave dens, four others had emerged from their den but were still actively using the den site, four bears were not located, likely indicating the bears were deeper in their den than the signal could penetrate,” Crupi’s report said.

Crupi said it’s typical for bears who have woken up to spend a few weeks at their den site in a period he calls “walking hibernation.”

“It’s a slow process as they come out of hibernation,” Crupi said. “They have lost several hundred pounds so they are very lethargic, their metabolism is still very slow and their body temperature is low. Over the next several weeks they will start to descend down to where vegetation is growing.”

The observed denning habitat was above the tree line at an average elevation of 2,300 feet and a slope of 36 degrees, according to Crupi, consistent with previous years. The biologist observed a higher snow line and lower snow pack than previous surveys conducted later in April between 2015 to 2018. He also noted signs of “numerous slab avalanches and heavy rain.”

Crupi said he’s unsure how den emergence compares to past years since this is the first year of the study. Compared to data collected in Yakutat from 2009-2015, research shows the median den exit date to be in mid-April, though two bears stayed in their dens until mid-May.

It’s too soon to say whether climate has affected the bears’ denning patterns in the Chilkat Valley, Crupi said.

Haines residents had seen brown bears into late December last year, which isn’t highly abnormal, according to Crupi. He said that resource availability and weather conditions contributed to their later-than-average denning.

Crupi said he will conduct a ground survey for collared bears in May.

In the meantime, Haines residents should be vigilant. The survey only looked at bears above the treeline, but Crupi said it’s likely there are bears lower that have emerged from their dens. “I’d assume people are going to start seeing bears in the next few weeks,” he said. “Make sure your yards are bear-smart already.”

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