Black bears are being tracked in Elk Island National Park as researchers study how they are adapting to a landscape that has been without bears for more than 100 years. The work is led by Sandra MacDougall, an ecologist and biology instructor at Red Deer Polytechnic, and examines the animals’ effects on the Beaver Hills biosphere as black bear sightings increase across Alberta.

Parks Canada provided cameras attached by collar to a dozen bears in the area. Each camera records a short video from the bear’s perspective every hour during daylight, allowing the researchers to follow daily activities and feeding behaviour.

“We have bears returning to a landscape that has existed without bears for over 100 years … So we want to understand what that means and how that will restore balance to this landscape,” MacDougall said. Black bears were eradicated from about one-third of their habitat across North America because of hunting, but are now returning to ecosystems that have changed in their absence.

“I want to understand how they are going to survive around this changed system and what that looks like for the people that live in this area as well,” MacDougall said. She told CTV News Edmonton that the videos have shown “how delightfully ordinary the bears are as they try to go through their year and meet their energetic needs, get enough food for hibernation and all the rest of that.”

As they prepare for winter, bears enter hyperphagia, a period of intensive feeding. They search for berries and nuts, including chokecherries, Saskatoons and beaked hazelnuts, and also engage in kleptoparasitism, taking food stored by other animals.

“One of the things we learned very quickly is that they can’t be bothered eating the beaked hazelnut right from the shrubs,” MacDougall said. “Instead, they go around and dig up these caches the squirrels have carefully made.”

The study is also measuring how often bears prey on other animals and what that could mean for wildlife populations. “We found they’re primarily vegetarian, but they do feed on beaver when they can access a beaver that’s away from the water, and that they are predating elk calves within Elk Island Park,” MacDougall said.

Researchers have found that black bears disperse seeds and contribute to forest regeneration. “During hyperphagia, they’ll eat 20 hours a day, and as you can imagine, they’re passing a lot of berries right on through, so they have an incredible role in that way.” Videos recorded from late June through early July also show bears tearing open fallen dead logs to eat ant larvae, returning nutrients to the forest.

MacDougall’s study is expected to conclude next year. A few more radio collars will be deployed before the research wraps up. CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti contributed to the report.

Based on reporting by CTV News Edmonton.