VIDEO: Florida Black Bear Abundance Study

By  //  October 2, 2014

information method to estimate bear density

FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

myfwc-180ABOVE VIDEO: As part of a study to estimate bear abundance in Florida, researchers set up remote cameras at some of the 273 hair snares used to collect bear hair in central and northern Florida. This video contains footage of Florida black bears that was taken by the remote cameras set up at various bear snare sites.

The DNA in the bear hair will be analyzed to identify individual bears. The pattern at which individual bears visited hair snares over the six 1-week monitoring periods provided data to estimate bear numbers. The cameras measured the length of time it took for the first bear to visit the hair snare. This information may provide researchers a way to estimate bear density in the future without the expense of DNA analysis.

More on Florida’s largest land mammal: http://bit.ly/1fGBdvc