Abstract:
The assessment of animal body condition has important practical and management implications for endangered wildlife
populations. The nutritional condition of a population can be evaluated in a non-invasive way using photogrammetry
techniques, avoiding direct manipulation. This study evaluates the utility of using body condition scoring (BCS) based on
the visual assessment of subcutaneous fat and muscle from the body contour as a non-invasive method to quantify body
condition in free ranging bears from camera trap photographs. Photographs of Apennine brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus),
taken between 2007 and 2009 in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (PNALM, Italy), were used to
evaluate the potential of this technique. BCS assessment was performed on 754 photographs representing 71 independent
observations. Forty-eight of these photographs were selected to also score quantitative body ratios using a standardised
measure of torso height. BCS varied seasonally, as expected by food availability and brown bear nutritional physiology,
and it was also positively correlated to all three body ratios. Our findings indicate that BCS assessment is a good proxy
for body condition, and that camera trap data can be effectively used to assess and monitor the nutritional condition of
bear populations, such as the critically endangered one in central Italy.
