Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) Predation of Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in the Mackenzie Delta Region, Northwest Territories

On 2 October 2007, we observed evidence of at least one brown bear (Ursus arctos) predating and caching broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus) at Pete’s Creek, a tributary of the Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories. While predation on whitefish by brown bears has been reported as traditional ecologica...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barker, O.E., Derocher, A.E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Ursus arctos
Brown bears
Coregonus nasus
Northwest Territories
Grizzly bears
Predation
Broad whitefish
Traditional knowledge
Mackenzie Delta
Arctic
Mackenzie River
brown bear
Mackenzie river
Online Access:https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/6dd0f644-ebcb-409d-910c-c710ea4908b5
https://doi.org/10.7939/R37V92
Description
Summary:On 2 October 2007, we observed evidence of at least one brown bear (Ursus arctos) predating and caching broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus) at Pete’s Creek, a tributary of the Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories. While predation on whitefish by brown bears has been reported as traditional ecological knowledge in the Northwest Territories, accounts in the scientific literature of brown bears feeding on fish other than salmon, trout (Oncorhynchus spp.), and charr (Salvelinus spp.) are rare, particularly for North America. As a spatially concentrated, high-quality food in a resource-poor landscape, migrating broad whitefish may play an important role in the foraging ecology of some Arctic brown bears.

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