Jarod Raithel

“Between the PDRF program, graduate seminar series and the graduate systems and seminars here within Wildland, there are a lot of mechanisms in place to ensure that graduate students are successful and don’t fall through the cracks.”

Under the direction of advisor Dr. Lise Aubry and through non-profit organization Bear Trust International, Jarod analyzes a data set of over 5,200 New Jersey marked bears across 30+ years. He researches bears’ reliance on human resources in urban areas — garbage cans, bird feeders, and grills — and how it influences their spatial and population dynamics.

Although currently on the rise, the New Jersey black bear population hasn’t always done so well. In the 1940’s they were down to less than 300 bears and almost went extinct. Since then, there has been an incredible steady growth, Raithel said.

“It’s interesting because it’s a very small percentage of the black bears that are typically driving population growth,” he said. “The ones that are surviving long enough to breed, then successfully breed, then have their cubs survive are the positively contributing ones responsible for the growth.”