Watch researchers crawl inside a black bear den near Flagstaff

Arizona Game and Fish Department researchers crawled inside a black bear den near Flagstaff and captured the whole thing on video, offering a rare look at a statewide study aimed at tracking the state’s bear population.

The video shows a team of biologists sedating a bear and temporarily removing it from its den to collect biological samples and check the fit of its radio-tracking collar.

 

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Over the past year, AZGFD has trapped more than two dozen black bears across the state and fitted them with tracking collars.

“Arizona is really unique in that we have such a variety of habitat types,” Samuel Lisak, the AZGFD wildlife specialist leading the project, said in a statement. “A big part of this is seeing if the bears in the White Mountains are doing things differently from the Sky Island bears.”

The study’s primary goal is to estimate bear survival rates and causes of death.

Combined with existing harvest data, the findings will sharpen population estimates and guide future management decisions and hunt regulations.

Fieldwork will continue through 2030.

American black bears are the only bear species in Arizona. Despite their name, they can sport brown, blond or cinnamon fur.

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