A Canadian researcher is using new technology to try to "fingerprint" polar bears in an effort to discover how hunting and climate change is affecting their population.

The new technique, which has already been used on rhinos in Africa and tigers in India, could allow scientists to keep much closer tabs on bear numbers in the face of Inuit hunting pressures and the threat to their icy habitat from global warming.

"We have no idea what's going on with our bears most of the time in the High Arctic or the Arctic generally," said Peter De Groot of Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

Estimating bear populations has become increasingly controversial.

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