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Three bear cubs are already very popular in their home state.
Researchers with Alabama's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that they were successfully able to place tracking collars on a trio of wild bear cubs in Dekalb County. According to spokespeople for the department, these collars will provide the state with useful information throughout the early months of the bears' lives.
Traci Wood, who works with the department's Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, was one of the biologists who placed the collars on the bears, according to a news release from the DOC. (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)
Traci Wood, who works with the department's Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, was one of the biologists who placed the collars on the bears, according to a news release from the DOC.
12-YEAR-OLD WILD TURKEY ASTONISHES PENNSYLVANIA OFFICIALS
"We’re evaluating the types of den structures the sows are using," Wood said. "We are collaring cubs when they are 7 weeks of age, around the 5-pound mark. It’s basically a GPS collar. We also insert a PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag into them."
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The collars are designed to expand as the bear grows and then eventually fall off. (iStock)
She explained that the collars will expand as the bears grow and will eventually fall off after about six to nine months. Fortunately, the PIT tag will remain and allow researchers to identify the animals if they are recaptured in the future.
"What that collar also tells us is if that cub has died," she said. "If they die, we receive a transmitter signal, and we can find the location of the den and try to determine the cause of death. This will give an indication of how cubs are recruiting into the population.
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The collars will help researchers learn more information, such as where the bears are building dens. (iStock)
"It tells us where they are going, if they’re having cubs in the future," Wood said. "Hopefully, it’s a long-term look at the life ecology of a bear from when it’s born to its reproductive age."