Body Condition Monitoring of Grizzly Bears Using Remote Cameras

Body Condition Monitoring of Grizzly Bears Using Remote Cameras

We are collecting photos of grizzly bears so we can estimate body condition using a computer-based measurement method of bear size described by Shirane et al (2020; https://peerj.com/articles/9982/). The placement of cameras is critical because we need photos of entire bears and they must be at oblique angles to the camera. We plan to use the data to compare body condition among years within the context of a long-term research project on grizzly bears in the southern Flathead valley of BC. We have collected one year of photos and are still adjusting camera locations to acquire optimal photos. About 10% of the bear photos were adequate to measure body condition in our first trial year. We reviewed all the grizzly bear photos from the larger camera grid in our area and about 1% of the grizzly bear photos allowed us to measure body condition. Camera placement is very important to the goal of measuring body condition.