What's new // Bear science
Raincoast’s published scientific papers, abstracts, and conference proceedings about bears, their conservation, and ecology.
The research found that bears can avoid ecotourists and take multiple weeks after encounters to return to their baseline activity levels. This new information can help fine-tune bear management and sustainable business practices.
A new study, “Influence of ecotourism on grizzly bear activity depends on salmon abundance in the Atnarko River corridor, Nuxalk Territory” released today in the journal, Conservation Science and Practice, finds that grizzly bear activity is affected by ecotourists in diverse ways that depend on how many salmon are present in the ecosystem. When salmon…
The Bear Project, originally started in 2006 by William Housty and his team at QQS (Eyes) Projects Society, focuses on gaining a greater understanding of bears in Heiltsuk territory.
Recent projects highlight a couple recent and tangible ways in which our research supports not only human-wildlife coexistence but also renewed self-determination by Indigenous governments.
Remote cameras are assisting researchers at the Raincoast Applied Conservation Science Lab to answer pressing conservation questions along the coast of British Columbia. These cameras, deployed and managed in collaboration with First Nations partners, create unique possibilities for non-invasive wildlife monitoring.
On the central coast, genetic analyses have identified three genetic groups of grizzly bears — bears are more likely to be related to other bears within their own group than to bears in another group.
Guided by the Wuikinuxv principle of n̓àn̓akila (to keep an eye on something or someone; a protector or guardian), a new study shows how fisheries managers can allocate salmon for wildlife, while balancing the needs of local communities.
In the landscape on the central coast of what is now known as British Columbia, genetic analyses have identified three distinct genetic groups of grizzly bears. The spatial areas of these groups align strikingly well with the geographies of three Indigenous language families (Tsimshian, Northern Wakashan, Salishan Nuxalk). The explanation the research partnership favours is…
Patience, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt are a few human qualities that many strive to attain. Grizzly bear field research here on the Atnarko River, Nuxalk Territory, affords our crew the opportunity to develop those traits and put them to the test…
New research has identified that the small genetic change responsible for Spirit bears – a rare, white-coated form of black bears – is up to 50% rarer in the Great Bear Rainforest than previously estimated. The study also indicates that geographic hotspots, where the Spirit bear version of the gene was especially prominent lack adequate protection from resource extraction…
Research by scientists at Spirit Bear Research Foundation, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and the University of Victoria, led by Christina Service, shows that salmon species diversity – the number of spawning salmon species available – is far more important and positively related to salmon consumption in coastal black bears than biomass abundance…
Researchers from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the University of Victoria have shed new light on what satisfies hunters. Reporting in the peer-reviewed journal Wildlife Society Bulletin, they found that the dominant satisfaction expressed in online hunting stories is achievement…