DISSECTED
FOR A Bear'S (AND your) SAKE BY JOHN D E V I LB I SS
BE ARS JUST WANT TO BE BE ARS. BUT HUMA NS— BEING HUMANS— SOMETIME S C OMPLICATE THINGS, TO THEIR PERIL .
S
ince 2011, three people have died from grizzly bear attacks in Yellowstone National Park—three out of the eight total bear-related deaths in the park’s 147-year history. What is behind this 60 percent increase? More people, more bears, and more chances of humanbear encounters. In 2016, the park tallied a record 4,257,178 visitors—a 195 percent increase from 1960. At the same time, the grizzly population has climbed from 136 in 1975 to at least 700 by 2016.
48 UTAHSTATE I SPRING 2020
Park officials have taken steps to minimize potential wildlife conflicts through regulation and education. However, despite how intuitive park warnings appear to be, getting people to heed them has been complicated. Zach Miller, Utah State University assistant professor of recreation resource management, is working with Yellowstone on an education program to minimize human-wildlife conflicts, particularly among day hikers, since all the fatalities from bear attacks in the park to date have involved only day hikers. And while bear spray is 92 percent effective in thwarting bear attacks, many park visitors fail to hike with it. The bear awareness campaigns used today in Yellowstone are based on the theory of planned behavior that target subjective norms. Human behavior is driven by three major factors: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, Miller says. For example, what’s your attitude about carrying bear spray? Are you doing it because somebody is making you? And what other factors, such as cost and availability, might be influencing you?
“If we are able to promote positive attitudes and positive subjective norms for influencing these things through communication, we are likely going to be able to influence people’s behavior as well,” Miller says. For example, data Miller collected show that people who hike in Yellowstone genuinely care about the welfare of bears. As a result, one message he developed: Carry bear spray not only for your safety, but for the bear’s sake, too, is a sensible message that sticks. “Because every time a bear kills someone, that bear is also killed, and it usually has cubs.”
ONE ME SSAGE Z ACH MIL L ER D E VELOPED: CARRY BE AR SPR AY NOT ONLY FOR YOUR SAF ET Y, BUT FOR TH E BE AR’S SAKE , TOO.
