From almost four miles away, the grizzly bear appeared to have picked up the elk carcass’ stench. Researchers were able to revisit the grizzly’s trek as it walked along the edge of a lake, eventually swimming across the end of the water to reach the carcass, because the bear was wearing a GPS collar. The same location information showed the bear visiting and moving away from the carcass several times in following days.
“The temporary movements away from the carcass could be indicative of this particular bear being ‘pushed off’ the carcass by a more dominant bear,” said Frank van Manen, of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team based in Bozeman.
Even the threat of a confrontation with a larger bear wasn’t enough to shoo the grizzly bear completely away from the prime source of protein.
“These carcasses have a lot of pulling power and holding power,” said Mike Ebinger, who is leading a study for the IGBST.
Study outlined
Ebinger’s study, being conducted over two years in Grand Teton National Park, is meant to analyze grizzly bear-hunter interactions. The scientists have several objectives.
They want to know if the density of grizzly bears changes over time relative to the hunting season — in other words, are rifle shots like ringing a dinner bell that congregates bruins? To find out, hair snares have been set up to collect bear DNA. Cameras at the snare sites allow the scientists to match the hair with specific bears that were photographed.
They also will plot where the elk are being killed by hunters in space and time.
“We want to know on a daily basis where the gut piles are,” Ebinger said. “We’re not interested in the elk gut piles, but in how the grizzly bears respond to them. They can be a very attractive resource.”
Perhaps most unusual, Ebinger will find out how hunters and grizzly bears interact — how they influence each other — by comparing the data from GPS-collared bears to GPS units loaned to hunters to track their whereabouts.
All GPSed
To begin the study, this summer the study team attached GPS collars to eight bears.
To track elk hunters, the study team has asked them to voluntarily carry and return 100 GPS units that can track their routes. After a day’s use, the units can be dropped off, their information downloaded, and the GPSes are recharged and sent out again. To encourage cooperation, participants will be entered in a raffle.
“We’ve had a really great response,” Ebinger said.