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Hidden Camera Captures Grizzly Behaviour in the Wild
Pacific Wild, a project of TidesCanada, has captured classic grizzly behaviour with hidden cameras set up in the Great Bear Rainforest. The cameras are used by the conservation organization to document wildlife in a non-invasive manner, capturing the biodiversity of the rainforest.
The grizzly bear seen in the footage stops at the base of a large tree, before rubbing his back continuously against the trunk to smear his own scent on the bark, known commonly as leaving a ‘scent mark’.
Research of grizzly bear behaviour indicates the scent marks help define their territory, as they wander from valley to valley in wide loops. Offspring have also been seen using the rubbed trees when a male is attempting to chase them away from their mother, rubbing themselves against the scent as a way of protecting themselves by mimicking the smell of the aggressive male (males are known to kill a female’s offspring in order to force them back into the fertility period and he can get a chance to mate).
The cameras are remotely operated in various wildlife-viewing situations above and in the future below the water, with infrared technology incorporated in order to record nocturnal behaviour, inlcuding rare footage of wolves feeding on salmon.
Photo by Ian McAllister
You can support them through their fund at Tides Canada. Go to their website to see more footage captured within the Great Bear Rainforest.
Pacific Wild was selected by Tides Canada in 2008 as a Tides Top Ten pick.
