Did you know bear teeth alone can indicate an increasing or decreasing bear population? In North Carolina where the black bear population is growing, scientists have been making estimations and handing this data over to the state’s Black Bear Co-operator Programme for years now.
How the heck do scientists predict the status of a species’ growing or declining population based on the appearance of a tooth? I wondered that myself before investigating the matter further. Black bear teeth have age or growth rings, which are indicative of a bear’s age upon death. It can’t be just any tooth either – only the “the two tiny teeth just behind the upper canines” according to an article in The Star.
It isn’t clear why black bears develop these age rings, reported scientist Gary Matson of Montana who performs experiments on the teeth to better analyze the growth rings. The concept behind the science is that each dark ring equals one winter the bear has lived through. Matson is shipped teeth from North Carolina bear hunters and “processes 400 teeth per day.” The experiment involves softening the teeth in acid first, and then making an impression of them in wax. This impression is viewed under a microscope at which point the growth rings are counted.
Okay, so maybe we can determine the age of a bear after counting these rings. But how the heck does that indicate anything about the black bear population in North Carolina? According to the article, the status of the bear population is inferred based on compiling the ages of many bears altogether and then analysing the distribution of the ages. This in turn “represents the health of the population” according to Matson. This information is then sent back to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission where scientists assess whether the bear population needs to be managed or not.
While the black bear population was in rapid decline in the late 19th century, the population has in fact been on the rise in the past decade growing at an average annual rate of 6%. This is partly due to the creation of bear sanctuaries in the 1970s and the enforcement of hunting regulations. Yet population management has recently become a concern as there has been an “increase in damage to agricultural crops by bears.” Also bears have been increasingly turning up in populated areas like suburbs and cities. Unfortunately, hunting has been used as the primary means to help manage bear populations.”
I have to say, it makes me a bit uncomfortable when the article claims the bear’s teeth have “no known function” and can be removed from live bears. Now is that really necessary?
Dr. Mike Malone and his team practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his website for more information.