Although smaller than 4,000 km2, the Central Alborz Protected Area (CAPA) is one of the main habitats of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Iran. During August 2005 to September 2009, we gathered data through direct observations of bears, identifying individual bears by means of age, sex, color, and behavior. We observed bears on 115 occasions. Mean size of cub litters was 2.00 (SE = 0.20, n = 13) and varied from 1 to 3. We speculate that low occurrence of meat in food items of the bears in the area explains this relatively small litter size. We hypothesize that the north-central portion of the Alborz Protected Area is a female core area which supports surrounding sink populations and needs to be protected more effectively.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 November 2011
Litter sizes of brown bears in the Central Alborz Protected Area, Iran
Bagher Nezami,
Mohammad S. Farhadinia
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Ursus
Vol. 22 • No. 2
November 2011
Vol. 22 • No. 2
November 2011
brown bear
Central Alborz Protected Area
Iran
litter size
Ursus arctos