JAGS code for age-at-harvest model of Asian black bears

This repository contains the full JAGS code used to fit an age‐at‐harvest state‐space model for female Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus) in the Echigo–Mikuni population of central Japan. The code implements a hierarchical Bayesian model that estimates age‐structured abundance, recruitment, natural mortality, and culling rate while allowing temporal variation associated with large conflict years (LCY). The code file (`bear_age_at_harvest_model.txt`) defines biological process components (recruitment, survival, and age transition), an observation model for harvest records, and hierarchical priors for age‐ and year‐specific culling rates. Analyses are designed to run in JAGS (ver 4.3.1) via R (ver 4.5.1). The model requires annual harvest totals, age‐specific harvest counts, and fecundity and natural mortality parameter.