In British Columbia, new findings could affect local fur-trapping policies or convince authorities to delay the trapping season.
In 2016, wildlife biologist Clayton Lamb was securing a GPS collar to a tranquilized grizzly bear in southeastern British Columbia when he noticed one of its paws was missing three toes. Weird, he remembers thinking, but not surprising for the rough-and-tumble animals. Then, three more grizzlies popped up sporting similarly mangled paws. Anxious to solve the mystery behind this grisly trend, Lamb and colleagues launched a yearslong investigation.
Lamb’s team wondered whether body-gripping traps, a bit like oversized mousetraps, could be to blame. The small traps are usually baited with beaver meat and deployed throughout the mountains of southeastern British Columbia from November through February to capture weasel-like critters called martens for their fur.
Could these traps sever bears’ toes from their paws? To find out, the team next stuck paws from deceased grizzlies into several traps commonly employed in British Columbia, then examined the carnage using x-rays.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Newark schools: Come clean on this shady deal | EditorialIf this is a legitimate deal, why all the mystery?
Read more »
Understanding Environmental Risk Factors for IBDA great unsolved mystery lies at the heart of inflammatory bowel disease research
Read more »
Itchy feet? Here's how to tell if you have athlete's footAccording to the CDNFootClinic, athlete’s foot infections increase as people age and is more common in men than women. healthing feet athletesfoot
Read more »
After long journey, former Dodgers prospect makes MLB debut with Oakland A’sCody Thomas, a 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers draft pick, picked up his first big league hit Thursday as the Oakland A’s faced the Washington Nationals
Read more »
Nationals’ Meneses delivers gut-wrenching loss to Oakland A’sMLB: Washington Nationals score four runs in the bottom of the 10th inning off Norge Ruiz to hand Oakland A’s a 7-5 loss
Read more »
Swarms of 'mini-shark' beach bugs are on a foot-biting rampage in CaliforniaThe toe-chomping critters seem to be unusually numerous and hungry at the moment.
Read more »