MNRF staff have been setting baited hair traps in wildlife management units (WMUs) across the province. They set 81 lines of 40 barbed wire hair traps across black bear range. Hair traps lure bears across a line of barbed wire using sardines as bait. When a bear brushes past the wire it snags some hair. Staff collected these hairs weekly during the spring and early summer and were able to identify individual bears from their DNA.
From 2017 to 2019, the team collected and processed over 50,000 hair samples from 55 WMUs! Scientists used the data to estimate black bear density at local and landscape scales across bear range.
Information about black bear numbers in different areas help scientists understand how habitat and hunting affect bear populations, allowing for improved harvest management. After being interrupted by COVID-19, sampling of the entire province was completed in 2022. In 2023, MNRF will be able to update the estimate of the number of bears living in Ontario – stay tuned for the results!
The program provides numerous other benefits, including collaborative sampling of the Bruce Peninsula by MNRF, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and Parks Canada. The DNA samples allow scientists to investigate dispersal patterns, which are important when managing animals across large landscapes like Ontario. In addition, the DNA samples also represent a wealth of information that can be used to learn about the evolutionary history of bears, their genetic structure and how changes in their gene flow may affect their populations.