Indices of body condition in wildlife can serve as valuable indicators of population health, and often provide insights into reproductive success and survival. We are partnering with the National Park Service to test and validate multiple methods for noninvasively estimating body mass of bears, including 1) terrestrial laser scanning technology, 2) ground-based single photo methods, and 3) aerial photogrammetry. This project evaluates methods generally applicable in bears, but specifically indices in polar and black bears. 

Contact Information

A close-up of a man with a rocky mountain slope and small plane in the background
Manager/Supervisory Biologist - Polar Bears
Alaska Marine Mammals Management Office
Expertise
Human-wildlife conflict management,
Nutritional, spatial, and habitat ecology of large mammals
+19077863621
Send a Message
Area
AK
Anchorage,AK

Species

Polar bears

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest of the extant bear species and is classified as a marine mammal. Polar bears are protected under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits the take, which is defined as...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
An adult American black bear in a forest

In the East, nearly black; in the West, black to cinnamon, with white blaze on chest. A "blue" phase occurs near Yakutat Bay, Alaska, and a nearly white population on Gribble Island, British Columbia, and the neighboring mainland. Snout tan or grizzled; in profile straight or slightly convex. 3...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species

Programs

A polar bear has black eyes and nose, and small ears, in a thick pelt of white fur.
Under direction of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska is responsible for the conservation of polar bears, northern sea otters, and Pacific walruses that inhabit Alaskan waters. Our sister agency, the National...
Program
Anchorage,AK

Partners