A series of unrelated incidents that left grizzly bears, mountain goats and a Wyoming man dead?has caused a review of some wildlife research projects, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The U.S. Geological Survey's Northern Rocky Mountain Science Office has temporarily suspended trapping operations for its grizzly study after a man was mauled to death by a mature male bear that had been tranquilized earlier in the day. In addition, Glacier National Park has temporarily halted a University of Montana mountain goat study after two male mountain goats died in mid June after being darted by researchers.

In Wyoming, a 70-year old man was killed on June 17 by a grizzly bear just after the bear was tranquilized during a research project conducted by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. The adult male bear had been snared, tranquilized and fitted with a radio collar before being released. Reports indicate the man was curious about the research operation and, despite verbal and posted warnings, hiked into the trapping location and likely surprised the bear. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear coordinator, Chris Servheen authorized the killing of the bear if it could not be captured because experts could not definitively determine whether the animal's actions were natural and defensive or aberrant and unusually aggressive. The bear was shot and killed on June 19.

"We regret the whole idea of having to remove a bear, but we just wanted to be sure," Servheen said. "We try to do everything we can to minimize the risks. But we can't protect ourselves against people who ignore every warning we give, and we can't protect people against themselves. The whole thing is regrettable; just one tragedy followed by another"

The bear was the last one to be captured by the U.S. Geological Survey crew that was conducting the research and the team had completed its trapping. However, there will be a review of the incident to be sure that the researchers followed standard trapping protocols.

The mountain goat study in Glacier National Park was intended to provide new data on how the park's wildlife will respond to the effects of climate change. Led by Dr. Joel Berger, the John J. Craighead Chair and professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Montana, the study was in the early stages of a three-year study. The first death occurred on June 8 when a tranquilizer dart pierced the ribcage of an adult male goat. After a review of practices with park managers, the researchers were allowed to resume their fieldwork, but a second darted goat died on June 10. At that point the National Park Service halted the study until further notice while it conducts a review. Mountain goats can be particularly difficult to work with because of sensitivity to tranquilizers. They experiencing an estimated 10 percent mortality, which is considered quite high.

The death of the mountain goats follows less than a year after a grizzly yearling was killed in Glacier when it was darted in an effort to translocate it. The cub's mother had become habituated to humans and, after efforts to haze and relocate her failed, she was killed when approaching a backcountry campground on August 17, 2009. The sow's two cubs were tranquilized but the young male failed to recover. A necropsy indicated that the cub died from blood loss from a lacerated jugular vein after the dart's initial penetration.

The use of tranquilizer in wildlife research began after the 1950s when the first tranquilizer gun was developed. Researchers quickly learned about proper drugs and dosages, and darting, handling and recovery techniques. Chemical immobilization of wildlife has become essential in many studies that require contact with an animal, such as to attach radio telemetry devices or to collect samples to assess animal health. With the advancement of the technology, wildlife mortality rates from chemical immobilization now are typically low. (jas)