New Jersey wildlife experts say an increase in interaction between bears and humans has muted some of their instincts to flee when they see people… Rutgers University wildlife ecologist Brooke Maslo tells The Record newspaper that when bears have ben…
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N.J. Bears Don’t Scare Away So Easily
When Joyce Miller’s 10-year-old son stepped out the front door of the family’s Wanaque home recently to walk his puppy, the family saw a black bear lumbering across the lawn. They quickly jerked their son and the dog inside, then banged garbage can lids to shoo the bear… The Millers have lived in a development at the edge of Ramapo Mountain State Forest for 15 years. The bears used to hustle away when they saw people. They’re not nearly as wary these days. “There seems to be a shift now in our coexistence,” Miller said. “I don’t feel as safe.”… One thing is certain: There are more bears, so there are more bear-human encounters. “When you have increasing human and bear populations, you’re inherently going to have more interactions,” said Brooke Maslo, a wildlife ecologist at Rutgers University. “And when they have benign interactions with people, they might start to stick around when they see a person rather than immediately run away.”… There is so much food here that bears here are having more cubs than usual. While the typical female black bear has a litter of one to three cubs, those in North Jersey, because of plentiful food, tend to have litters of three to six cubs, Maslo said.
Rutgers Scientists Awarded More Than $300,000 For Bat Disease Research By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Three Rutgers researchers, assistant professor and extension specialist in wildlife ecology Brooke Maslo, molecular ecologist and assistant professor Malin Pinsky, and epidemiologist and associate professor Nina Fefferman at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, received funding of more than $300,000 dollars from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate strategies to fight White-nose […]
The Other Audubon: The One That Allows Golf Courses to Kill Birds
The long, emerald-green fairways of the Dairy Creek Golf Course double as a serene nature haven where birds are celebrated and protected. The course, in the California coastal town of San Luis Obispo, even has the credentials to prove it: Audubon International has certified it as a sanctuary… Data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that Dairy Creek Golf Course has intentionally killed more than 1,000 of the small, black duck-like birds over the past three years, making it one of the most deadly golf courses for birds in the country… “You’re not reducing the population. You’re just moving them temporarily,” said Brooke Maslo, a wildlife specialist at Rutgers University’s Cooperative Extension program.
Black Bear Encounters are More Likely as Weather Becomes Warmer
New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection says bear/human encounters were up 52 percent in 2014, with a total of 2,836 incidents, compared to 2013, when there were 1,870 bear/human encounters. This year, however, the NJDEP is reporting a 35 percent decrease in encounters so far… “With an expanding population, the number of complaint calls have been increasing steadily over the years,” said Brooke Maslo, PhD., an extension specialist in Wildlife Ecology at Rutgers University… According to Maslo, spring brings the availability of more food for bears… “You have livestock being born, lots of babies, potential prey for black bears, and of course the needs of the young are demanding energy and time. But I would say that that probably the most active for a black bear would be in the late summer or early fall, as they are preparing for the winter dormancy period,” Maslo said.
Big brown bats in N.J. thrive as smaller cousins decline
While New Jersey’s little brown bat population, ravaged by a fungal disease, continues to slip toward likely extinction, another species, the big brown bat, appears to be benefiting, with its numbers rising by as much as 50 percent in the state since w…
Bear Cub Mystery in NYC: Explaining Recent Black Bear News
This week, a young black bear was found dead in New York City’s Central Park. The six-month-old female had been likely killed by a car, though how she got into the heart of the biggest city in the United States is still a mystery, according to news rep…
Bear attack in West Milford happened after warning from hikers, was ‘one in a million,’ experts say
The five hikers who were apparently attacked by a bear last month in West Milford, with one ending up dead, were warned along the trail by hikers who said they were being followed by the animal, authorities said today…”Bears are generally fearful of humans, and will avoid interactions with people whenever possible,” added Brooke Maslo, an assistant professor at Rutgers University’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources.
Student Film Features Professor’s Battle Against White Nose Syndrome in Bats
Marine and Coastal Sciences major Jill Azzolini (SEBS 2015), who worked as a summer intern with Day’s Edge Productions, used her newly-acquired digital filmmaking skills to create a short film of Rutgers Assistant Research Professor of Wildlife Biology Brooke Maslo’s work on reviving bat populations that have been decimated by White Nose Syndrome. Azzolini was […]
Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
We congratulate these SEBS and NJAES faculty and staff on their accomplishments, appointments and awards below. For university-wide announcements, please visit the Rutgers Faculty and Staff Newsletter. 2024 Changlu Wang, extension specialist in entomology, Alvaro Toledo, assistant professor, Department of Entomology, Robert Corrigan, RMC Pest Management Consulting and Josephine Bartlett, Pest Management Department, New York […]