Danielle, Grizzly girl
- Ximena Neri
- Feb 27, 2019
- 6 min read
"Sometimes you have to work with rodents before you get to work with polar bears."
Passionate about the conservation of wildlife, Danielle Rivet tells us how she became a bear biologist, and gives some advice to early conservationists looking to work with large carnivores.
Where the bears go, Danielle follows.
She is helping understand how human activity and environmental variables affect polar bear movement in Waspuk National Park, Canada. But before that, she studied the Northern river otter reintroduction in New York, heart function and effects of fatty acids in the diet of grizzly bears, and the hibernation phenology and effects on reproduction of Columbian ground squirrels in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada.
So, how do you go from ground squirrels weighing a hundred grams to work with the largest terrestrial carnivores on Earth? She tells us.
Q&A with Danielle
Q: How did you start working with large carnivores?
A: I had recently finished my BSc in Zoology and knew I wanted to work with mammals and threatened species, but I didn’t start working with large carnivores specifically until I got my Master’s position with grizzly bears at Washington State University. I found a listing on a job board for graduate student openings at WSU and decided to check out the biology department’s website. I found the grizzly bear research lab, and immediately fell in love. I contacted the PI, sent in my application, and everything just kind of fell into place. I was invited for an interview weekend, met the bears and the other members of the lab, and received my acceptance letter two days after I arrived back home. And so began my three-year journey working hands-on with captive grizzly bears at WSU.
I ended up doing a clinical study regarding the effects of saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet on grizzly bear heart function. Essentially, I was responsible for creating a balanced diet for two sets of bears, weighing out all their food, running nutritional analyses, performing blood draws and water dilutions for body composition tests, assisting with echocardiograms, and taking bear blood pressures – all on unanesthetized, wide awake grizzly bears! My entire Master’s program was a great and memorable experience, and it really got me started on this bear biologist track.
Q: Which have been the challenges of being a woman working in Carnivore´s Management and Conservation?
A: Thankfully, both of my advisors for my Master’s and for my PhD have been very supportive, so I certainly haven’t experienced any negativity or challenges in that respect. In fact, most of the students in both of my labs have been women. There was never the idea that we couldn’t do things just as well as any of ‘the guys’. The first time we had to anesthetize a few bears for routine medical procedures at WSU, my PI handed me a syringe and told me to go get a blood sample – no questions asked.
I think the biggest thing to consider is that working with carnivores has been a field that has been (and still is) very much dominated by men. At some points, it kind of feels like working in the ‘good old boys’ club. It’s frustrating, but you just have to show them what you know. Usually, once you demonstrate to most people that you’re not a helpless little girl, that you know what you’re talking about, and that you are competent at your job, they welcome you into the fold. But there will always be those people who don’t think women can do long hours of demanding field work, that think that your work needs to be double-checked, that don’t trust that you could possibly do something as well as they can, and that it’s just not your place to be involved in that kind of research. I’ve had some people ask my PI questions about my project while I’m standing right there, even after he repeatedly referred them to me. I am seeing more and more women breaking into this field all the time though, which is encouraging. It’s hard work, but we definitely deserve our place here too.
Large carnivore biology is a difficult field to get involved in, period.
Q: Have you ever been involved in a situation that involved a conflict between bears and humans?
A: I’ve had grizzly bears follow me up a trail and occupy the same general space as me, and I’ve seen bears in the wild many times, but I’ve never personally had a ‘scary’ bear encounter or been involved in a bear-human conflict situation myself. I try to always be aware of how much noise I’m making when on trails, to keep my campsite clean and store food and other smelly things outside of my tent, and to maintain safe distance between myself and any bear I encounter.
I have witnessed people in National Parks (in both Canada and the United States) approaching bears at very unsafe distances, trying to get better photographs. I’ve been in camp spots next to or near others that have not been bear friendly (i.e. campers had left out food, food containers, dirty dishes, or trash) – and even had bears come into the campground I’ve been staying at due to this. I always try to remind people of the safe and responsible things to do in these situations to keep both people and bears from being harmed.
And as my PhD project focuses on polar bear movement in Wapusk National Park and the drivers behind their movement behaviors, I am intensely aware of the fact that polar bears in and around Churchill and other Northern communities are spending more time around buildings and other infrastructure, and thus are coming into contact with humans more and more frequently. Part of the goal of my PhD research is to help provide managers, conservation officers, and members or visitors of Northern communities with updated, relevant information so that management strategies are better able to help mitigate bear-human conflict.
Q: Which has been your most exciting experience with wildlife?
A: I think the most exciting experiences I’ve ever had have been when I’ve seen my study species in the wild for the first time. I’d been working in the bear lab at WSU for almost two years before I saw my first wild grizzly. I was on my way out of Yellowstone after a quick weekend trip, and I just happened to stop at a pullout. There were a couple other people there, cameras out and being rather quiet, so I looked across the river and back into the trees, and sure enough there was a beautiful grizzly standing on the opposite shore, turning over logs and looking for yummy things to eat. I was so excited to have actually seen a bear in its natural habitat that I forgot to change the manual settings on my camera, and every shot I took came out totally underexposed. I had to do some serious photo editing afterwards, but I’ll never forget the rush I felt.
It was very similar when I saw my first polar bear on the road between the town of Churchill and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. So far, that feeling hasn’t gone away – it’s always super exciting to see a large carnivore in the wild. It’s just a really awesome feeling and your heart is just racing. I hope it always feels that exciting, and that it never gets old.
Q: What advice would you give to early female conservationists looking to work with large carnivores?
A: Definitely don’t give up, and put yourself out there for these types of positions as much as you possibly can. Find PIs working on projects you’d like to participate in and contact them early. Form relationships and network with people. Learn as much as you can about the things you are most passionate about, and then use that knowledge to impress the people you’d like to work with. Send that email. Make that phone call. A lot of being successful in many fields (or at least getting your foot in the door) is making the right connections and knowing the right people. Large carnivore biology is a difficult field to get involved in, period. Don’t be disappointed if you start off with something else. A lot of the time, you can use those experiences as stepping stones to get to where you want. Start off small, get your experience, and then work your way up. Sometimes you have to work with rodents before you get to work with polar bears.
It takes someone really brave to work with the largest terrestrial carnivores, and Danielle is an inspirational role model doing not only that, but also breaking stereotypes and carrying out outstanding research. Her studies on polar bear movement will certainly provide data of enormous value to prevent further HWC and develop integral conservation actions. Thank you for sharing your stories with us!
Be sure to follow Danielle, Grizzly Girl, on Twitter for more bear stories! https://twitter.com/grizzlygirl87
She actually has a super fun hashtag #KnockKnockWhosBear that you will never regret following.
You can find more about her in her blog: https://bearsbeersbackcountry.wordpress.com/
-Xim Neri
If you know an amazing conservationist working for human-wildlife coexistence (probably it´s you) whose story you´d love to read, contact me at carlaxneri@gmail.com to arrange an interview!
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