Researchers from Northern BC need to to find your assist and acquire the Pope of bears

Hunches a bear in the forest? Or in the city?

Prince George, researchers of BC, are asking to help the public to identify and collect bear scatts so that they can analyze it and compare the health of the urban bear to people outside the city.

A professor at New Caledonia College, biologist Laura Graham, is considering a multi-year-old study of physical differences found in urban bears, to identify what he is bringing to the city. Ultimately, researchers aim to find ways to manage bears and reduce conflict with humans.

In 2024, 303 black bears were killed by BC’s Protection Officer Service (COS), a sharp decrease than 603 before the year. Between 500 and 600, anywhere is usually killed annually by COS.

Many of these are deaths because bears go in search of food, often in garbage cans.

But this is not always the case, Graham said.

“Two years ago, it was a very bad year for the bear coming to the city, but it was also a very bad year for wildfire. Is it a factor that it’s a factor that it is a factor whether the bears come to the city or not?” Graham said during an interview with CBC bill fee.

He said that air quality and health coming out of hibernation can also be factors.

While Graham said that she is not asking anyone to go in search of a poop, if she comes beyond it, she wants to know.

“We will come to pick them up, and then we can analyze them for hormones related to stress and metabolism,” he said.

This can be in your yard or a park nearby. If you see a victim of suspected bear, Graham is asking that you either take a photo and send it to 778-349-4813 or collect it if you have a plastic poop bag-as they raised after dogs.

For those sending in photos, the sample must be relatively “fresh”, and they will need to include the location of the sample.

Anyone should label it with the time and date collected to bring the sample. It can be dropped in college, where there is a nominated refrigerator for the bear.

According to Fur-Bayerrs, an environmental advocacy group, bear scatt is simple: it is big, dark and may appear “”Loose or tubular“The organization’s website says.

The research team is accepting photos and samples by the end of October, and the findings of the study are expected to be available by spring 2026.