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.
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.
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…
Transitioning between seasons can often push your senses to work overtime. This is especially true in summer and autumn in the Atnarko River corridor, where the river comes alive with Chinook, chum, pink, sockeye, and coho salmon runs. The smell of a river containing spawned-out fish is unforgettable, and one I have grown fond of….
As an organization working to end commercial trophy hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest, we rely on our supporters. We’re inspired, and grateful, for those who take donations to the next level by creating their own supporting campaigns. Already, people have been working with us towards securing the Kitlope Tenure. As we continue towards our…
Grizzly and black bears do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to connecting marine and terrestrial ecosystems along the coast. As fish return each fall to spawn, bears catch salmon and eat them along the river banks or adjacent forests, leaving food and nutrient sources for hundreds of species of scavengers on…
We watch as her three little cubs slowly take to the high water and make their way to mom. They graze on roots, and search for salmon carcasses that simply aren’t there. The cub’s curiosity…
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…
With spring comes organized chaos as graduate students and research associates transition from laboratory work, data analysis and writing, to a flurry of preparation for an upcoming season of monitoring bears on the central coast of British Columbia. We are headed to Gitga’at, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv Territories to join…
A team led by researchers from Raincoast, UVic, and Simon Fraser University reviewed the scientific literature for cases in which independent scientists scrutinized government reporting of wildlife population sizes, trends and associated policy. The findings are reported in a new paper, “Political populations of large carnivores,” ….
Raincoast supports the proposal to list 13 new terrestrial species to Schedule 1 of Canada’s Species at Risk Act. While we are encouraged by this, the focus of this submission is on grizzly bears…
Raincoast Conservation Foundation is hailing the NDP government’s announcement ending grizzly hunting in not only the Great Bear Rainforest, but the entire province. It is an enormous conservation victory for wildlife in British Columbia…