Happy as a bear in a berry patch
As part of my research, we set up 40 trail cameras in August 2019 in the southern portion of my study area. The cameras were placed in areas where grizzly bears are to known to occupy historically and have high predicted berry densities. The best part of camera set up was getting to sample wild strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and huckleberries. In the field we picked locations where berries were abundant and that had easy access (although not easy enough as we have learned trying to retrieve them over the winter). This will help to supplement the existing hair snag data to explore the relationship between grizzly bear occupancy and human-caused landscape disturbance, which is prevalent throughout the area.
Camera traps are a great way to monitor wildlife as they can be relatively inexpensive, easy to put up, and its fun to go through the photos given that animals actually triggered the cameras and not just branches and grass blowing in the wind. Bear management area 3 (BMA 3) where the study takes place is home to many species additionally to grizzly bears including lynx, cougars, wolves, black bears, foxes, moose, deer, elk, and skunks. Hopefully I get to see some of these and more importantly, some grizzly bears!
Stay tuned for wildlife photos as I go through the camera cards over the next few months!
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