COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, in partnership with the University of Dayton’s Gantchoff Lab, recently collared a female black bear in Ashtabula County to learn more about how this species is expanding its range in Ohio.
It’s the first time a female black bear in Ohio has been fitted with a GPS collar.
Black bears are rare in Ohio and are considered a state-endangered species. They disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s, but in the last few decades have been naturally recolonizing the state from healthy populations in bordering areas. Reports of black bears in Ohio are increasing, with most observed in northeast and southeast Ohio.
ABC 6 has reported twice in just the last two weeks about black bear sightings, including one in Morrow County and another incident in which a black bear had to be euthanized after it was struck by a pickup truck in Richland County.
A female black bear was captured in Ashtabula County with a special trap. The bear was fitted with a tracking collar and released unharmed.
The female black bear that was captured on June 3 is estimated to be 5 to 10 years old and weighed 198 pounds. It was captured on private land in northeast Ohio with landowner permission and released unharmed in the same location after a GPS collar was attached.
GPS collars remotely transmit location data, helping researchers to learn about the habitat use and preferences of individual bears. Researchers using the location information can also learn about a bear’s home range size and space requirements, survival rates, and their reproductive status, including litter size and frequency of reproduction.
The collar is programmed to fall off the bear before its battery dies, typically after about 18 months.