Florida is luring bears with donuts so it can count them
Thinkstock
Dunkin' Donuts uses donuts to lure humans, so perhaps Florida's new approach to counting bears shouldn't sound so bizarre.
Wildlife authorities in Florida are placing the sweet pastries around the state in "counting stations" to assess how many black bears are roaming around. In order to get to the donuts placed in the middle of these stations, bears have to rub up against barbed-wire corrals, which capture fur for DNA testing. (Officials swear the bears aren't harmed.) Researchers will then use the resulting data to see if the bears need to be moved to areas where they won't harm humans.
Officials think the number of bears in the state has "greatly increased" from the last count, which was 3,000 in 2004. The study's results will be ready in about a year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
-
Top cooking shows for foodies
The Week Recommends From Bake Off to Chef's Table, these mouth-watering TV shows will inspire you in the kitchen
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
The four presidents who were assassinated in office
The Explainer The unlucky men who fell victim to successful plots against their lives
By David Faris Published
-
Canada's carbon tax in the crosshairs
Under the radar PM Justin Trudeau's flagship green policy has become increasingly unpopular as citizens grapple with high inflation and cost-of-living crisis
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published