**1. Introduction**

National parks should be managed in a fine balance between wildlife conservation and human activity. Over the decades, conflicts between bears and visitors occurred frequently in some natural parks in Japan [1]. Since staffs and budgets are limited, efficient management plans have to be made. Bear occurrences depend on topology, food availability, vegetation,

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

bear physiology, and human activity [2]. If it is possible to detect bear occurrence pattern, intensive management action can be planned where and when bears occurred frequently.

change seasonally. In Oze NP, since no road which vehicles can drive was built, staffs have to arrive on foot at the site where bear management is needed. For prompt action, staffs should choose a place to stand by at with good access of the site. Accordingly, we determined areas where bears are prone to occur frequently by analyzing sighting reports and proposed yearly staff assignment.

Establishment of Management Plan by Sighting Reports of Asiatic Black Bears…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73313

This study was conducted in the Ozegahara, Ozenuma Lake and surrounding area of Oze NP (**Figure 1**). Ozegahara is the largest area of moorland in Honshu or the South of Japan, measuring 6 km from northeast to southwest and 2 km from northwest to southeast, with a

elevation. The area receives heavy winter snow, with mean annual precipitation of 1972.5 mm and a mean maximum snow depth of 342 mm. January is the coldest month, with a mean monthly temperature of −6.5°C, and August is the warmest, with a mean temperature of 17.5°C, according to climate data measured from April 2006 to March 2010 at the Yamanohana

Ozegahara consists of fen and marsh, with a raised central bog and transition moorland (valley bogs) in peripheral areas [4–7]. The raised bogs are dominated by *Sphagnum* spp. and cranberry *Vaccinium oxycoccos*. The fens and marshes are dominated by several types of reed communities, and *Phragmites* and *Moliniopsis japonica* communities tend to dominate the transition moorland. Riparian forest extends along streams and rivers in the moorland and provides cover and a corridor for wildlife. Several forest types occur in the area, with

**Figure 2.** The number of people visit in Oze National Park each month. The number of hikers is from unpublished data

located at an elevation of 1400 m. Ozenuma Lake is 1.8 km2

at 1665 m

77

**2. Study area**

total area of 7.6 km2

Meteorological Station (elevation 1405 m).

provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

In this chapter, using our cases in Oze National Park (Oze NP), we propose how to establish the plan for the bear management using sighting reports. This method we used can be applied in most national park, because sighting reports are not only collected easily and economically but also supposed to have already collected in most national parks.

Two hikers each are injured in the Ozegahara in 1999 and in 2004. Both of these incidents occurred at same spot (**Figure 1**) and about 8 o'clock in the morning in early June. Thus, these incidents may have similar background, and it should be revealed to discuss a proper bear management plan in Oze NP.

Firstly, we will discuss whether the bears in Oze NP are habituated or not. If bears habituated to human or artificial food, these bears are called "nuisance bear," and the risk of conflict between bear and human will be higher [2]. Since prompt action is essential to manage habituated bear, at least one trained staff must be ready at any time in months bears frequently occur. As a result, the larger number of trained staffs is needed than for nonhabituated bears. Thus, firstly the presence of nuisance bear must be detected. In Oze NP, food habit study of the Asiatic black bear revealed that the bears do not use artificial food at all [3]. Besides these studies, we analyzed reactions of bears when they noticed visitors and evaluated the presence of nuisance bear.

Secondly, by analyzing pattern of occurrence of the bears, we discuss on proper staff assignment. In order to decide assignment of staffs, the area where bears frequently occur needs to be determined. Although bears occur anywhere in Oze NP, frequently sighted sites were limited and

**Figure 1.** Study area.

change seasonally. In Oze NP, since no road which vehicles can drive was built, staffs have to arrive on foot at the site where bear management is needed. For prompt action, staffs should choose a place to stand by at with good access of the site. Accordingly, we determined areas where bears are prone to occur frequently by analyzing sighting reports and proposed yearly staff assignment.
