Abstract
Monitoring programs concerned with a brown bear management plan devised for the Oshima Peninsula were surveyed and problems were reported. To get feedback about the management plan, trends in bear population and frequency of damage caused by bears have been monitored. Hunting statistics, biological analysis of captured individuals, distribution surveys via questionnaires and wide-area trace surveys have been carried out as a part of investigations of bear population trends for the whole of Hokkaido Island. And trials of population estimation via radio telemetry and hair-snagging were performed for a narrow region of the Oshima Peninsula. Although a rough estimate of this local population and examination for the establishment of a population estimate technique were performed, both lack of budget and staff shortage impaired the improvement of precision and development to a wider area. On the other hand, to monitor the frequency of damage, some new methods were tried, including the classification of problem bears by stage and estimation of the number of the problem bears. These should provide important indices to evaluate the progress of the management plan.
