University of Alberta researchers are getting a bear's eye view to learn about grizzlies -- a threatened species in the province.

New high-tech collars have been placed on bears, featuring cams and GPS, to take a colour photo every 15 minutes and track the animals’ location every hour.

"It's unique and really amazing," said Bogdan Cristescu, an ecology graduate student with the Mark Boyce Research Lab who has used the technology since 2007.

The cams -- developed by the University of Calgary -- have captured images of roadways, thick bush, dens, berry patches and carcass sites in central Alberta.

"The cameras can take photos where you would have never been able to go," said Cristescu.

By tracking travel patterns -- the GPS/cams are on three bears and GPS on eight bears -- researchers can determine hot spots where it is most likely for bears to come into contact with people.

Most grizzly mortalities are caused by humans and are preventable, said Joe Northrup, another ecology graduate student.

“Where there’s more roads and industry, there’s more bear mortalities,” Northrup said.

In June, the Alberta government declared grizzly bears a threatened species. The findings of the camera-collar technology have surprised university researchers due to the vast distances the animals' travel.

Through GPS readings, they determined one an adult male covered 10,000 square-kilometres in a month. "They can move huge distances in short periods of time,” said Northrup.

The information collected by the university is forwarded to the government for improvement to bear management programs, such as restricting traffic on certain roadways.

But camera-GPS collars are not cheap. The device costs about $7,000 and photos are downloaded off the camera after two years of data collection.

"It's an evolving technology," said Cristescu.

There are nearly 700 grizzlies in Alberta and an estimated 17,000 in British Columbia.