The State Bears in the World

 One of the perks of Volunteering at the Maryland Zoo is you get invited to Keeper Lectures.  Friday, I attended one presented by Dr. Tom Smith, professor of Wildlife Sciences and Researcher at the Brigham Young University.  He's dedicated his career as a biologist studying Bears.  In particular, Black, Brown (Grizzly), Polar and Sloth.

His work with Sloth Bears supports the mission of an organization called Wildlife SOS-India.  Sloth Bears are these big "fluffy" animals who aren't even strictly speaking carnivores.  They fill their days using their long sticky tongues feeding on ants and termites, yet they are the most dangerous of all bears when it comes to human mortality.  The issue as discovered by Dr. Smith research is the proximity to India's growing population where innocent encounters between these bears and humans often end in attacks.  The crux of his work involves supporting solutions by providing information that the people who are directly effected can use to make policy that is good for both bear and man.

The bulk of the presentation was spent on his work with Polar Bears.  Dr. Smith works with Polar Bear International, and is a member of the Working Group for Polar Bear Conflict Resolution.  He gladly dispelled a rang of myths about Polar Bear behavior.  And he went into great detail outlining the processes he developed in order to monitor Polar Bear birthing.  A lot of this involved pioneering field work and innovative use of technology.

Other topics included an overview of bear behavior by species, and how to be safe around bears in the wilderness.  In a word, Bear Spray.  His study of the efficacy of Bear Bells was interesting--same you dime.  They do little to distract let alone deter bear human interactions.