PBI has supported Dr. Jane Waterman's behavioral research in the Churchill area for the past five years. During that time, she completed a groundbreaking study on the effects of ecotourism on the region's polar bears. Tour operators in Churchill now follow the study's guidelines so they don't inadvertently disturb the bears.

In addition to researching the behavior of Churchill's bears, Waterman is developing techniques for identifying bears by their whisker spot patterns and is working with digital images to estimate a bear's weight and size. Over the past few years, Waterman worked with a conventional digital camera. Beginning this fall, the scientist will conduct her research with the help of a robotic camera.

“The robotic camera offers amazing possibilities from both the educational and research sides,” Waterman says. “On the educational side it it is an opportunity to bring active science to the classroom. On the research front the camera offers us the potential to investigate polar bear behavior without the presence of humans.

"By honing our non-invasive techniques, such as identification of polar bears by whisker spot patterns and the estimation of body sizes using digital imagery, we will be able to follow individual bears as they move through time and space, and for the first time we, as researchers, won’t be a factor influencing their behavior.”