Bear Vision

Bears can see almost as well as humans, they tend to be nearsighted but have good depth perception. They have a layer of tissue called the tapetum lucidum that lies behind the retina that reflects light and improves their night vision. All bears have round pupils except giant pandas which have slits. Polar bears have...

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Year end thank you

Last month it all came flooding back to me - why I do the work that I do.I gave a GBOP presentation to a small group of youngsters in Mount Vernon. They were all from a neighborhood that gets special attention from an amazing man - Jon Gerondale. He's the Neighborhood Resource Officer for Mount Vernon Police in Kulshan...

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Winter Bear Idiosyncrasies

Bears have some fascinating physiological traits, several of which are manifested during their winter denning period. These include: delayed implantation of the embryo for 3-4 months following the summer breeding season, and maintenance of energy and water balance during the 3-5 month denning period.Energy and Water Balance...

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Has the Arctic melt passed the point of no return?

Why are Polar Bears falling through the sea ice? Scientists have found the first unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world at least a decade before it was predicted to happen. Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than...

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Grizzly bears go island hopping

Somewhere in the mist-shrouded rainforests of northern Vancouver Island, a grizzly bear is hibernating in its winter den. And he is the source of mystery, fascination, and even fear among Island residents.As far as anyone can remember or scientists can determine, only black bears have lived on Vancouver Island.But this...

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Whale of a party

Can you count the grizzlies dining on this beached whale in Alaska?Now that's a Thanksgiving mea...

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WDFW Director Resigns After 10 Years Service

OLYMPIA- After a decade of leadership in fostering scientific and collaborative management of state natural resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Director Jeff Koenings, Ph.D., has announced his resignation, effective Dec. 11."In collaboration with many other resource managers and Washington citizens,...

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