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1 May 2015 Intraspecific predation on a subadult brown bear in Greece
Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, John J. Beecham, Christos Chatziioannou, Miguel de Gabriel Hernando, Konstantinos Grivas, Lambros Krambokoukis, Giorgos Papakostas
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Abstract

Intraspecific predation (cannibalism) in brown bears (Ursus arctos) is a behavior rarely documented, and it remains poorly understood. In April 2010 we documented the probable killing and partial consumption of a subadult female bear by a subadult male bear; both bears had been captured during a telemetry study in northern Greece. Intraspecific killing was supported by a match between the inter-canine distance of the male, fatal wounds on the female, and the absence of other bear tracks at the trap site; consumption of the subadult female by the subadult male was witnessed directly by the trapping team. This is the first reported case of probable intraspecific killing and predation of a subadult female by a subadult male brown bear. Though intraspecific predation appears to be a rare phenomenon, trapping teams should always strive to reduce the time an animal is captured in a trap, such as by using trap alarms.

© 2015 International Association for Bear Research and Management
Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, John J. Beecham, Christos Chatziioannou, Miguel de Gabriel Hernando, Konstantinos Grivas, Lambros Krambokoukis, and Giorgos Papakostas "Intraspecific predation on a subadult brown bear in Greece," Ursus 26(1), 7-10, (1 May 2015). https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-15-00003.1
Received: 28 January 2015; Accepted: 1 April 2015; Published: 1 May 2015
KEYWORDS
brown bear
cannibalism
Greece
management
trapping
Ursus arctos
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