Grizzly bear toe amputation due to seasonal overlap with furbearer trapping in southeast British Columbia

Science and adaptive management form crucial components of the North American model of wildlife management. Under this model, wildlife managers are encouraged to update management approaches when new information arises whose implementation could improve the stewardship and viability of wildlife populations and the well-being of animals. Here we detail a troubling observation of toe amputations from several grizzly bears in southeast British Columbia and assemble evidence to inform immediate action to remedy the issue. During the capture of 59 grizzly bears, we noticed that four individuals (~7%) were missing some or all their toes on one of their front feet. The wounds were all well healed and linear in nature. Further opportunistic record collection revealed that this pattern of missing toes occurred beyond our study area, and that furbearer traps were responsible for toe loss. We documented a problematic seasonal overlap between the active season for grizzly bears and the fall trapping seasons for small furbearers with body grip traps and for wolves with leghold traps. Instead of opening these trapping seasons on or prior to November 1, when more than 50% of bears are still active, we recommend delaying the start of these seasons until December 1, when most bears have denned. Innovative solutions, such as narrowing trap entrances to exclude bear feet while still allowing entrance of target furbearers, have the potential to minimize accidental capture of bears, but the effectiveness of these approaches is unknown. Solutions that do not involve season changes will require monitoring of efficacy and compliance to ensure success.