In 1967, two simultaneous grizzly bear attacks in Montana’s Glacier National Park launched an era of research into human-bear conflicts.
Studies showed the importance of stopping two specific bear behaviours: food conditioning and habituation to people. Those pioneering findings translated readily into advice and policies, saving many bear and human lives.
However, all that work assumed ecosystems remained stable: a notion now upended by climate change. Food shortages acutely increase conflicts between bears and people, but we have not applied this awareness to the “new normal” of climate-driven ecological disruption.
