Today I Learned …

Researchers in Rocky Mountain National Park have discovered an efficiency hack. Black bear scat contains lots of seeds, including those from Oregon grape and chokecherry. Researchers have realized that it’s far easier to collect one pile of poop than to collect seeds from all the different native plants the bears eat. Also, some seeds have tough coatings, and a trip through the bear’s digestive system softens the seed coats. The scientists simply scoop the poop, tease out the seeds, start the seeds in a greenhouse, then transplant the seedlings throughout the park.