Can you spot the bearplane? Oooh, so close. One question we often get asked during #FatBearWeek is how are you measuring the bears? Obviously, we put them next to large inanimate objects for size comparison. Bigger than a float plane? Check. Bring over the boat! Actually, wild bears have always been challenging to measure. We find them very impatient as we struggle adjusting the sliding weights on the balance scale while dodging their heavy paws and judgmental stares. Unbearable. One method that is a bit less anxiety inducing involves Terrestrial Lidar scanning technology. Although mainly used in civil engineering fields to scan the interior of buildings, roads and gravel stockpiles to get volume measurements, as a an experiment, it has been used on bears at Katmai. This was also a challenge as the animals have to stay still long enough to complete a scan. When the bears stand at the top of the falls or in the river waiting to catch a fish, they are usually still enough that the ...