Boone And Crockett On A Long Journey From Iran To Alaska To Study Kodiak Bears

Really neat story from the Boone and Crocket Club about an Iranian ph.D student who had the opportunity to study Alaska’s Kodiak brown bears. Here are some details about Boone and Crockett Fellow Jamshid Parchizadeh’s research in the Last Frontier that helped him earn his doctorate from Michigan State University:

Parchizadeh’s Ph.D research focused on “Brown Bear Denning and Harvest on the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska.” His work tackles knowledge gaps that directly influence harvest quotas and long-term population management.

He tested three major hypotheses to see what drives bear denning behavior. Was it physiographic factors (physical characteristics of the land’s surface and terrain), young protection, and/or food quality dependence? “We did not find support for any of these hypotheses,” he explains. Far from being a failure, this result highlighted the species’ resilience. “This makes Kodiak [bears]different from brown bear populations elsewhere. They are more adaptable. These results will be published in a scientific journal soon,” he adds.

In addition, he investigated whether hunting led to smaller bears (the selective harvest hypothesis). His data showed the opposite: both the age and total skull size (as an indicator of body size) of harvested bears have increased over time, indicating that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) management strategies are effective. “Our science showed that ADF&G is doing a great job,” he says. “And management is working.”

“Jamshid’s work has demonstrated the success of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s brown bear harvest management program on the Kodiak Archipelago, which ensures the long-term health of this iconic population,” Belant adds.