As human-wildlife conflicts continue to grow with sprawling suburban and urban populations, Nevada’s Department of Wildlife is reminding the public that it still has a trick up its sleeve to keep both people and black bears safe: working dogs.
The agency published several incredible photos of working Karelian bear dogs Wednesday. The dogs, which are a medium-sized black-and-white hunting breed with Finnish origins, are seen hazing problem black bears during releases back into the wild.
The agency explained NDOW’s Karelian bear dogs, or KBDs, “help keep Nevada’s black bears wild” through a non-lethal technique known as aversive conditioning. That’s a fancy way of saying they help wildlife managers haze bears in urban areas and ensure they move along during releases back to the wild.
“NDOW primarily uses Karelian bear dogs during bear releases, but they also assist with flushing bears from urban dens, hazing wildlife in public settings, locating injured or orphaned bears and supporting bear research efforts,” writes NDOW. “Programs like this help reduce human-bear conflicts and can prevent bears from having to be destroyed.”
Nevada has been operating its Karelian Bear Dog Program since 2001, when NDOW acquired its first bear-conflict dog — a Karelian named Stryker. It’s not clear how many bear dogs are currently active across the state; the agency did not immediately reply to a request for more information on its program. NDOW calls its program one of the first ever established in North America, though only a handful of agencies across the country still appear to rely on these working dogs for bear-conflict management today.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife briefly mentions on its website that it “uses specially trained Karelian bear dogs to haze bears during releases and to search for bears during human-wildlife conflicts.” Handlers in the Tahoe Basin, which is a notorious hotspot for human-bear conflicts, have used KBDs with good success. The dogs are also keeping wildland firefighters safe from bears in Alaska, and the National Park Service has used them in Glacier National Park to manage grizzly conflicts.
Many of the Karelian bear dogs seeded across the country are sourced from the Wind River Bear Institute, which was founded in 1996 by bear biologist and wildlife K-9 trainer Carrie Hunt. Hunt wanted to expand non-lethal solutions for bear conflicts.
Washington State used to operate a large Karelian Bear Dog program to mitigate bear and cougar conflicts, but it’s been significantly scaled back in recent years. Now, some wildlife managers worry the program itself is in jeopardy. As of September, just three active bear dogs were stationed in the state — down from seven in 2012 — with no plans to bring on any new working dogs, as of September. Handlers also report that KBD’s are being used less frequently for deterrence and problem bears are being euthanized more often.
“I would guess in our program we have prevented the unnecessary deaths of probably close to a thousand bears. Plus, they have helped us catch a lot of poachers, too, which has also contributed to wildlife success,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Nick Jorg told Filson in the fall. “It’s the only thing that I’ve personally seen in almost twenty five years of working with bears that actually ever works on both the people side and the animal side that will actually save a bear’s life and help prevent future conflicts. I hope it will continue.”
WDFW’s Karelian Bear Dog Program is privately funded through donations. Many pages on the program itself have been removed from the state agency’s website. While some research has found that hazing bears with chase dogs doesn’t ultimately result in permanent conflict mitigation, many handlers would beg to differ, and some research specifically on hazing with the Karelian breed suggests otherwise.
One researcher (and KBD handler) found that while food-conditioned black bears will still return to human attractants like garbage after hazing, Karelian bear dogs do measurably shift bear behavior in ways that reduce conflict, like pushing bears toward more nocturnal and less urban patterns.
About Karelian Bear Dogs
Karelian bear dogs were originally used by Finnish and Russian peasants as watch dogs and for hunting, according to the American Kennel Club. The breed, which works cooperatively with other dogs to pursue and bay game, lived tough lives and often did not survive hunts.
Related: Where Do All the Problem Bears Go?
World War II was particularly devastating to Karelian bear dogs, according to the American Karelian Bear Dog Alliance, since “many were deliberately destroyed by owners, or released into the wild in order to escape capture as war booty by the Russians.” Breeding officially began post-War with a gathering of 60 animals, from which 43 were used to establish the black-and-white dogs recognized as the official breed standard. Today, they’re one of the most popular dogs in Finland, ranking among the country’s top 10 breeds.
Adult Karelian bear dogs weigh about 44 to 49 pounds, according to the AKC breed profile, and run middle-of-the-line on most social and personality traits (though they’re not considered particularly good with young children). The breed falls on the higher end of the trainability spectrum, with the AKC describing them as fairly eager to please handlers. They’re considered loyal, courageous, and capable:
“The Karelian bear dog is an eager hunter and very independent, yet works cooperatively to mark game by barking. Their senses, especially smell, are sharp, thus the breed is suitable for big game hunting. They have a very good sense of direction, are balanced, courageous and persistent.”
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