Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 37
capable of transmitting nearly real-time data
to biologists. However, GPS collars are limited
by battery life and either self-detonate or are
programmed to drop when battery life drops
to low levels - generally less than five years
post-deployment. Researchers and biologists
locate and recover the device and download
the recorded waypoints or refurbish the collar for redeployment. This detailed data in
some cases shows where an animal was in
15-minute intervals and illustrates the travels
of the animals over time, allowing biologists to
track their movements and identify important
habitats.
Game and Fish asks hunters who harvest
a collared animal to report it to Game and
Fish so the collar can be recovered and reused.
Hunters are asked to avoid cutting the device
and instead slide it off their harvest intact or
loosen the bolts on the side of the collar. GPS
collars are expensive and only a small percentage of individuals in any population being
studied typically receives a collar. During the
course of multiple years, GPS collar datasets
can grow to numerous individuals for years
to provide invaluable insight into the requirements of the herds for conservation purposes.
Most tagged and collared animals are safe to
eat, but there are a few cases when hunters may
want to hold off eating tagged game. Animals
tranquilized close to an active hunting season
are marked with specific ear tags informing
hunters to call Game and Fish before consuming the meat. Cases when this could occur
involve nuisance animals, such as a moose
causing havoc in a residential area that need
to be removed from a situation and relocated.
"The drugs we use can take weeks to completely get out of an animal's system," Scurlock
said. "If we have to tranquilize an animal near
an open hunting season, we mark that animal
with a "do-not-eat" ear tag so any hunter who
harvests it can check to make sure the animal
is safe to eat.
Contemporary technology has revolutionized the ability to understand the state's
abundant wildlife. The technology ranges from
simple to complex, yet each method of study
plays a role in gaining critical information.
Each hunter who harvests a tagged animal and
reports it to Game and Fish plays a role in the
massive undertaking of wildlife research. The
findings of these studies contribute to healthy
populations for years to come.
- Christopher Bancroft is an avid outdoorsman,
photographer and writer from Jackson. This is his first
contribution to Wyoming Wildlife.
An ear tag is fastened to a ewe bighorn sheep near Camp Creek south of Jackson. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
Kyle Lash, south Jackson game warden, steadies a tranquilized cow moose after fitting it with a GPS collar and ear
tags for a highway crossing study near Jackson. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
Wyoming Wildlife | 37
Wyoming Wildlife magazine
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wyoming Wildlife magazine
Table of contents
Cover
From the director
A couple pennies
Letters to the editor
Opening shot
News
Project profiles
Ask Game and Fish
Case files
In the Field
The terrestrial extra
Elk and Elke
Earrings with info
Still in Love
Wild country dispatch
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Cover
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - From the director
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Table of contents
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - A couple pennies
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Letters to the editor
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Opening shot
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 7
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - News
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 9
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 10
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 11
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 12
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Project profiles
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Ask Game and Fish
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Case files
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - In the Field
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 17
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - The terrestrial extra
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 19
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 20
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 21
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 22
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 23
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Elk and Elke
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 25
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 26
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 27
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 28
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 29
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Earrings with info
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 31
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 32
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 33
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 34
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 35
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 36
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 37
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Still in Love
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 39
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 40
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 41
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 42
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 43
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 44
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 45
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - Wild country dispatch
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 47
Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 48
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