Provincial program underway to track information about black bears

Throughout the region, barbed wire fences with sardines are set up to try and attract bears.

It's an initiative by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

"It's being done to establish what densities are of black bears in the areas of the trap lines," Emilie Kissler, a regional terrestrial ecosystem science specialist based in Timmins said.

The ministry wants to update its information on bears, especially in areas where there are concerns about the bear population.

To get that data, crews have set up barbed wire stations.

"It's around a centre tree," she explained.

"In the centre tree, we have an attractant or a bait which is basically three tins of sardines."

The hope is the bears will smell the sardines and leave a hair sample of the barbed wire.

"The hair samples will be sent for DNA analysis," she said.

"From that, we will be able to determine how many bears are using the area."

Kissler says the process isn't harmful to the animals

"The barbed wire is a really passive method of monitoring," she said.

"Bears are quite thick skinned and have a really nice thick coat and this strand. It's only a single strand and it's 50 cm from the ground."

The stations are set up in remote areas, but signs are visible to inform the public of the project. The ministry asks people who come across the stations not to touch them to protect the integrity of the data.