Social media users were wowed by a repost of a huge carnivore roaming the frozen wilderness of Northern Canada.
The trail camera footage, initially taken in 2021, was reposted by Yukon Wildlife Cams on Facebook. It shows a masked, snow-covered grizzly bear that treats the viewer in extreme close-up as it looks straight into the camera. The caption offers a little more context about the impressive footage:
“Although I’ve shared this before, I’m guessing most of you have never seen this awesome grizzly covered in snow after a late September snowfall in 2021,” the post read.
Yukon is home to as many as 7,000 grizzly bears. A grizzly bear is a type of brown bear that is smaller and lives further inland than its coastal cousins. Their smaller stature is due to their diets, which rely more on roots, berries, and small prey. They play a key role in the ecosystem as predators and foragers. They keep prey populations in check, and the nutrient-rich bear dispersal is essential for a healthy forest.
They are considered “vulnerable” in the Yukon due to habitat loss and conflict with people. Grizzlies are also threatened by global warming of temperatures driven by human activity, which disrupts their food supply. For example, the high-calorie seeds of the eggshell pine, which they need to heat up in the fall, are threatened, according to a study from the University of Colorado.
Because they only reproduce every three or four years after age eight, any recovery to their numbers will take time.
One of the biggest challenges facing the province’s conservation plan is the difficulty in tracking grizzly numbers. That’s where trail cameras can provide an invaluable service.
Cameras can make a non-intrusive and cost-effective method of monitoring threatened wildlife. In addition, they can play a key role in raising public awareness and support for conservation measures.
As the comments for the video showed, the viewers were happy with the footage.
“It makes the heart race,” one comment read.
Another joked, “All fattened up for winter and ready for bed … like me.”
“Wow he’s really bulked up for his long winter nap,” a viewer noted. Although strictly speaking, the bears enter a state of torpor for the winter, a lighter sleep where they occasionally wake up to feed.
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