Does a Bear Snag Hair in the Woods?
Grizzly bears who once roamed most of North America were placed on the 'threatened' list in 1975. So how are their numbers today? Researchers don't exactly know because bears are huge, massively-strong, loners, with vicious claws and teeth, who aren't easy to track and count. Hanging out with them could be seriously hazardous to a researcher's health.
But now researchers have ultra-cool, forensic technology on their side.By gathering tuffs of bear hair snagged in the bushes around where they live, researchers can extract the DNA from skin tags attached to the hair and develop a profile. They can learn not only how many bears are in an area... but the relationship these bears have to each other. They can identify parents, children and sibling groups. And, the best part of all, they don't have to interact or interfere directly with the bears to do it. Read the article here at the genomne News Network to see how they do it.
Grizzly Bear Trivia: Number of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem when they were listed as being threatened in 1975: 136-312. Today, they estimate the number to be approx: 634 - 834.
Now check out what a grizzly bear hair looks like under a microscope: BEAR HAIR. Keep this image in mind when we discuss other hair in a couple of weeks.
