A single-catch snare to collect brown bear hair for genetic mark–recapture studies

Abstract Use of genetic marks to identify individuals and generate population estimates using mark–recapture methodologies has become increasingly common. Recently, brown bear (Ursus arctos) population estimates have been made using DNA isolated from hair follicles as the mark, obtaining hair with a barbed-wire enclosure around a scent lure. While this method has been successfully used in low-density populations, it would be difficult to use in areas with dense concentrations of bears because of the high probability of collecting hair from multiple bears at a single site during a single trap session. We designed and evaluated a single-catch snare to collect bear hair in a dense brown bear population during late summer. We hung snares, modeled after a wolf (Canis lupus) neck snare, on bear trails along streams where bears congregated to feed on spawning salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). During 2 years 1,000 snares were tripped and 455 contained bear hair. We determined genotypes from 309 hair samples collected. ...