Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations

Abstract

Large predators often are believed to cause declines in hunter harvests of ungulates due to direct competition for prey with hunters. In Alberta, predators of elk (Cervus elaphus), including grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), cougar (Puma concolor), and wolf (Canis lupus), have increased in recent years. We used trend analysis replicated by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) to examine regional trends in elk harvest and hunter success. Over a 26-year period, average harvest of elk increased for both unrestricted bull (5.46% yr-1) and limited-quota (6.64% yr-1) hunting seasons. Average hunter success also increased for both unrestricted bull (0.2% yr-1) and limited-quota (0.3% yr-1) seasons, but no trend was detected in hunter effort (P > 0.05). Our results show that increasing large-predator populations do not necessarily reduce hunter harvest of elk, and we only found evidence for this in Albertas mountain WMUs where predation on elk calves has reduced recruitment. Furthermore, data indicate that Albertas elk harvest management has been sustainable, i.e., hunting has continued while populations of elk have increased throughout most of the province. Wildlife agencies can justify commitments to long-term population monitoring because data allow adaptive management and can inform stakeholders on the status of populations.