Two remote-sensor cameras set up to watch bears along the Chilkoot River have been vandalized with spray paint, according to Shannon Donahue, executive director of the Great Bear Foundation.
Donahue said she positioned four cameras along the river in July to watch bears, particularly how they use habitat and their success in catching fish, including how salmon abundance and people – including sport fishermen – influence that.
The information was intended to be used in a study aimed at determining how best to manage bears and people along the crowded river corridor, she said.
Donahue was able to salvage the two cameras and is hoping that if people know the purpose of the cameras, they will be more likely to respect them.
She guesses that vandals may have believed the cameras were there to catch illegal fishing. “I’m sensitive to cameras, too, but I’m not trying to catch anybody doing anything.”
Footage of bears shot by the cameras can be seen on the Great Bear Foundation’s Facebook page.
Questions research aims to answer include: What kinds of activities displace bears or affect their foraging success? Is there a correlation between the abundance of salmon and fishing success? Are some bears more able to tolerate human presence than others? Is there a minimum distance people must keep to avoid impacting the bears?
The research will build on work done by bear biologist Anthony Crupi, Donahue said.
The work also will include monitoring vehicle traffic along the road that runs parallel to the river, using a vehicle counter. Traffic can impact bears’ ability to move between the river and the forest, where they can seek sanctuary from humans and other bears. Some bears become habituated to vehicle traffic, losing their fear of cars, making them more vulnerable to road-related mortality, while others may avoid roads entirely, Donahue said.
The research is funded by donations from the Great Bear Foundation and the Charlotte Martin Foundation.