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Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) have come under the spotlight in a program supported by De Beers to build a better understanding of bear populations in the remote area.
A similar study has also taken place near De Beers’ Gahcho Kué and Snap Lake mines on wolverines (Gulo gulo), another of Canada’s seminal Arctic species.
The studies are run in a partnership between De Beers, the Government of the Northwest Territories, Rio Tinto (Diavik Mine), Dominion Diamond Ekati Corporation (Ekati Mine) and the University of Calgary. Preliminary data indicates that the grizzly and wolverine populations around the mines are stable.
To assess numbers near the mines, a series of 105 hair snag posts were erected with cloth towels tied to the top and soaked with one of five scent lures to attract the bears. One lure was rotten cow’s blood. A total of 1,108 hair samples from grizzlies were collected during the two years of surveying, 845 of them near Gahcho Kué, 263 near Snap Lake.
Additional samples were gathered from hair snag posts placed around the Ekati and Diavik mines. DNA was extracted from the hair samples to identify individual grizzlies and wolverine.
Results so far indicate that there are about four grizzlies in every 1,000 square kilometres in the Snap Lake and Gahcho Kué area, and between nine and 11 in the study area closer to Ekati and Diavik. Over the two years of monitoring, 218 bears were identified and 221 wolverines were documented.
The wolverine population density around Snap Lake and Gahcho Kué is about five per 1,000 square kilometres.
Canada’s Arctic tundra is a remote and difficult place to conduct research. Winter temperatures regularly drop to below minus 30 degrees centigrade. During the wolverine survey, snowmobiles were used to visit the hair snag posts. Grizzly posts were visited in the summer using helicopters.
Sarah McLean, Regulatory Specialist at De Beers Canada, said: “The citizens of the NWT are very connected to the land, and in particular to the wildlife that depends on it. It is important that the mining industry in the NWT operates in such a way as to minimise impacts on the land and wildlife.
“Participation in cooperative studies such as the wolverine and grizzly hair snag programmes is an excellent way for De Beers to work with other mines and the Government of the Northwest Territories. We have developed a robust programme, which is well positioned to support sound management decisions.”
The studies have been running since 2004. De Beers provided funding in 2005-2006 during the collection of baseline data and has given financial and in-kind support since 2013.