Grizzly bears are an iconic symbol of wilderness and nature. For those who work, live and recreate in bear country, encounters with bears are likely. When you encounter a bear, or even think about it, you bring forward preconceived notions of what will happen next. Are your assumptions correct? As more and more people recreate in bear habitat, the risk of human-bear conflict increases. Understanding bear behaviour can help to reduce conflict risk and shape our relationship with these magnificent carnivores. Sarah Elmeligi, PhD has been researching how people and bears have shared the landscape for over 15 years.
In this webinar, bear biologist and conservationist Sarah Elmeligi shares her experiences researching Ursus throughout Western Canada. Sarah will share some of the conclusions and insights from her work with grizzly bears and how this has shaped her environmental career journey. Sarah will share what bears have taught her through hours of observation and research and discuss implications to the human-bear relationship in general
What we will cover:
- The impacts of tourism on bear behaviour and visitor perceptions of the impacts in the Great Bear Rainforest
- How bears and people share trails and habitat in the Rocky Mountain National Parks
- How bear behaviour research can shape our relationship with bears in the future
- Sarah’s academic and professional career journey
