Drummond Island Trail Camera Videos | Upper Peninsula of Michigan | Browning Recon Force Advantage

Описание: A four-month trail camera compilation on a bear scent tree on Drummond Island, as part of a black bear survey for the Michigan DNR.

Michigan has 10 black bear management units (Amasa, Baldwin, Baraga, Bergland, Carney, Drummond Island, Gladwin, Gwinn, Newberry, Red Oak), each having a yearly regulated hunting season. Black bear estimates in each management unit are conducted using state-space and close-kin mark-recapture models. State-space models use harvest data, including age and sex, to estimate life stages and reproductive rates. Close-kin mark-recapture models use genetic samples (hair) to identify the relationship between individuals. Drummond Island is the ONLY black bear management unit in Michigan that is NOT part of the state's bear estimates. Thus, black bears on Drummond Island must be monitored separately to properly manage the population to combat human-bear conflict, impacts on the ecosystem, all while having a healthy bear population.

Why am I dumping fish oil on this tree???: To conduct our monitoring survey, we used a grid of trail cameras to survey for black bear across the island. To draw bears to camera locations, we dumped two scents on a tree (fish oil & anise oil), to imitate a bear scent marking behavior (rubbing, scratching, biting, urinating, etc.). These trees are used to communicate between other bears: often displaying identity, dominance, mating status, and territories. In addition to our camera survey, a number of bears were collared to assist in the survey. Camera and collared bear data was used in a statistical model to determine the number of individual bears on Drummond Island. The estimated number of adult bears on Drummond Island is 87 (61-121, 95% CI) (MI-DNR Estimate 2024-25).

I worked as a seasonal employee for the Michigan DNR's Wildlife Research Unit during the time these videos were taken. These videos were taken on my personal cameras, alongside the survey's camera.

Species featured in this video: American black bear, white-tailed deer, raccoon, sandhill crane, domestic dog.

Date: June - October 2025
Location: Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Drummond Island (Chippewa County)
Trail Camera Model: Browning Recon Force Advantage (BTC-7A)

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