Method identifies bears by DNA from hair on barbed-wire traps
The first scientific survey of Connecticut’s black bear population in over a decade is underway this summer, with researchers fanning out across western Connecticut to collect hair samples at hundreds of survey stations.
Like a typical U.S. Census taker, the work of counting bears in the woods starts with a clipboard and a blank piece of paper. Researchers carry that equipment along with bear spray and tick repellent as they move from station to station.
The project is a collaboration between the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Carnivore and Population Ecology Lab at Mississippi State University, which has conducted similar population surveys of black bears for several other state wildlife agencies.
Rather than trying to locate bears in the wild, the survey relies on hair samples collected in barbed-wire traps. Researchers use the hair to identify individual bears based on their DNA.
Once samples are processed, researchers will develop a population estimate based on how many different bears were identified and how often those bears showed up in samples across different geographic areas.
The current survey is the first scientific assessment of Connecticut’s bear population in more than a decade, giving the state its first such look at the population since the previous survey.