Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (May 20/02) - Biologists will be catching up to grizzly bears this week to see how seismic activities may have affected their hibernation.

In the fall, biologist John Nagy with the Department of Renewable Resources and Economic Development in Inuvik, put GPS collars on six grizzly bears. Some are denning near seismic exploration sites while others are located away from the activity. The collars keep track of the bear's body temperature and activity.

Now it's time to collect the information the collars have been storing all winter. The work is part of a two-year study by RWED in cooperation with seismic companies doing work in the Mackenzie Delta.

"We know they didn't come out of their dens during the activity period, but it doesn't say they weren't active or that their normal activity in the dens wasn't affected," Nagy says.

The bears will continue to wear the collars for another year and a half, and Nagy says he's hoping to collar another four bears.

In another portion of the experiment, Nagy's group dug an artificial den at Richards Island, near vibroseis work which involves heavy equipment pounding the ground (instead of dynamite). The den was rigged with motion and sound detectors inside and outside to monitor vibration and sound levels. Information from those sensors is currently being analyzed.

Nagy says he expects the results from the winter's work to be available by August.