The research, led by former U of A graduate student Joe Northrup, mapped the locations of 303 grizzly bear encounters over the last 10 years. There were no human fatalities, even though the vast majority of the encounters happened on private ranch land.
The researchers had strict guidelines for measuring a grizzly bear encounter. "We didn't count sightings of bears by back-country hikers," said Northrup. "We only documented encounters where the bear approached people and there was a potential threat to the person or their property."
The researchers also surveyed the sites of bear encounters on or near private land and came up with a property description with high potential for trouble in the Pincher Creek area. "Our research showed that a ranch house on a quarter section lined with trees and close to a river bed has a high potential for problems," said Northrup. He added that river beds coming down from the mountains are a popular transportation route for bears.
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