Hair from bear rubs - a valuable source of information

Kate Kendall; Amy Macleod; John Boulanger; Kevin S. McKelvey

Treesearch

Hair from bear rubs - a valuable source of information

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Kate Kendall, Amy Macleod, John Boulanger, Kevin S. McKelvey

Year:

2021

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

International Bear News. 30(3): 26-29.

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Abstract

Trying to monitor changes in the size of a bear population and frustrated with the small sample size due to budget constraints? Have you considered that many species provide easy-to-obtain samples by rubbing on all sorts of things and leaving hair throughout their range? Surveys conducted annually in Glacier NP, USA, 1983-1997 to investigate the use of passive bear sign deposition to monitor bear population trend revealed the high prevalence and wide geographic extent of bear rubbing and resulting hair deposition (K. Kendall, unpublished data). Further, bears like to use trails and roads, making bear rubs easy to find and collect.

Keywords

bear population, sampling, rubbing, hair deposition

Citation

Kendall, Kate; Macleod, Amy; Boulanger, John; McKelvey, Kevin. 2021. Hair from bear rubs - a valuable source of information. International Bear News. 30(3): 26-29.