Rocky Mountain Tracking

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North Carolina Zoo Giving Hope To Endangered Species Thanks To GPS

May 25th, 2013

There is no question that the human race has taken much from the Earth. More and more, people are taking precious resources the Earth offers us without giving anything back. It isn’t just a US problem: it’s worldwide, and especially in developing nations. If you ask some scientists, they’ll tell you that we’ve already passed that point of no return, where no matter what we do to try to make up for it, it can never fully replenish all we’ve taken.

This means that many species of animals are in danger of extinction, whether through habitat loss or loss of a key aspect of survival, like their food supply. The director of the North Carolina Zoo, Dr. David Jones, said, “If we do not change how we interact with the natural world in significant ways, we will soon run out of resources, disrupt the ecosystems in which we live and push hundreds – if not thousands – of species into extinction.”

A Starting Point: Helping Gorillas

He feels that each and every biological institution should be working as hard as they can to support biodiversity, bringing some stability to the ecosystems of the world. Yes, the NC Zoo is making efforts to this effect, but he wants to see more.

What is the NC Zoo doing exactly? They’ve decided to partner with the Wildlife Conservation Society and form the Cross River Gorilla Research & Monitoring Project in Central and West Africa in an effort to save Africa’s most endangered gorilla. The Cross River gorilla is not only the most endangered African gorilla, but one of the 25 most endangered primates in the entire world. Scientists once thought this gorilla was extinct, but to their surprise, discovered remaining gorillas a little less than 20 years ago. In all, there are roughly 300 of them alive today. Habitat destruction and poaching are leading causes for their low numbers.

What Is Being Done?

Relying on GPS tracking technology, park rangers in Africa monitor the travels of the gorillas and record their GPS location data. With the software program Cybertracker and hand held computers, rangers monitor gorilla nests, tracks, sightings, and more, as well as possible poaching sites whenever they come across one.

The software maps the route traveled by the ranger using the GPS location data, showing them areas where they need to patrol more often and gorilla habitats. It’s also helping other animals that coexist with these gorillas.

Over 200 rangers were trained in the use of the Cybertracker system between 2009 and 2010. The data collected by the GPS devices is so valuable, they’ve expanded the program to other projects in the area.

Other Programs

The NC Zoo is involved in a variety of other conservation programs, like the Cameroon Elephant Tracking and Conservation program which also relies on GPS tracking technology. The program focuses on the elephant populations and their interaction with humans. This allows conservation experts to reroute elephant herds before they reach populated areas, putting an end to conflicts between people and elephants there.

An Update On OR-7

May 17th, 2013

OR-7, also known as “The Lone Wolf,” is still wandering the wilderness, being tracked via GPS tracking collar. We’ve provided updates along his journey, and will continue to do so until he can be tracked no more. It seems the famous gray wolf has crossed Interstate 5 a total of two times in the past few months.

For the past six weeks, the 4-year-old wolf has been meandering his way in and out of Jackson County, occasionally heading into the eastern portion of Douglas County, and then heading back for a short while to California, where he had his first I-5 crossing experience.

The GPS tracking collar shows the wolf crossing the Interstate near Yreka, CA which is in the northern portion of the state. This is the farthest west the wolf has ever traveled in the entire 19 months he’s been wearing the GPS tracking device, according to US Fish and Wildlife Service reps.

After crossing I-5, he turned around and headed the way he came, again crossing the Interstate. John Stephenson, a USFWS biologist who’s responsible for watching OR-7 move about the area from the comforts of his Bend, OR office said, “Hopefully, he’ll stop doing that. That’s not a good strategy for longevity.”

He trekked north again according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, heading into the southeastern part of Jackson County and the hills to the south of Emigrant Lake just east of Ashland.

OR-7 is the only known gray wolf ambling about California since 1924. And when he is in Oregon, he is the first known gray wolf residing west of the Cascades ever since the last one was killed in order to protect livestock in the area back in 1937.

Mark Vargas is with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Rogue District, working as a wildlife biologist. He said, “Man, that wolf can travel. The distances he’s covering is amazing. He could be back in Siskiyou County (California) as we speak.”

OR-7 has been traveling from Oregon to California and back again last spring as well, in his quest to find a place to call home and a mate. He ended up almost in Nevada, at which point he turned around and walked all the way back. Vargas says, “Who knows where he’s going.”

You can be sure we will keep you up to date as to the movements of this great creature. The entire world seems to be watching, too: his story has been covered in a total of five continents.

GPS Tracking Project Shows Bald Eagles Died Of Lead Poisoning

April 30th, 2013

Earlier this month, the last bald eagle being tracked by a Kelly wildlife conservation group has been found dead. The Kelly group was conducting a study of bald eagles using GPS tracking devices in the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Kelly group, Craighead Beringia South, has been tracking bald eagles in the area for about five years and is leading the charge to identify a link between lead poisoning of the local birds of prey and hunting.

The last remaining eagle was named Taylor by the non-profit Kelly conservation group. The bald eagle was found dead near an elk carcass. “By the Bar BC [Ranch], we found it lying under a tree by the Gros Ventre River,” said Bryan Bedrosian, an avian biologist with Beringia South. “I brought the whole bird down to Laramie for a necropsy. It came back with high lead and high selenium.”

Elk hunting season lasts through Jan. 31st in the region Taylor was found. Wyoming Game and Fish Department encourage hunters in the area to help reduce the large Jackson Elk Herd. Unfortunately, hunters aren’t always able to locate their kills, leaving carcasses with lead bullets as tempting meals for the local scavengers. The lead can overwhelm birds and other scavengers and poison them. “They picked up two bird on the National Elk Refuge this year, both adult bald eagles,” Bedrosian said. “Of those two birds, it was concluded one died of lead poisoning and one died of head trauma – it also had high lead levels.”

The GPS tracking study has provided helpful information regarding the role of lead bullets in the deaths of local birds of prey. During the 2012-13 hunting season in Grand Teton National Park, hunters were encouraged by the elk refuge and Game and Fish Department to voluntarily switch to non-lead bullets. For the first time this year, the national park is not allowing lead bullets during hunting season.

GPS Devices Track Bald Eagles In Conservation Effort

April 29th, 2013

The Center for Conservation Biology from the College of William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University has been tracking bald eagles in the Chesapeake Bay area since 2007 using GPS devices. The tracking project originally began as a part of a Department of Defense effort to learn more about how the eagles interact with military bases. It became clear that bald eagles are attracted to bases, because they provide quite a bit of shelter. Unfortunately, the military bases can also cause significant harm to the birds they attract during ordnance testing, as well as more ordinary hazards like power lines.

Together with several similar, but smaller, eagle tracking efforts, the team at the Center for Conservation Biology has gathered the world’s largest dataset of GPS tracking information for eagles. There are a total of 70 birds being monitored across nearly 1,000,000 locations. One unique and exciting aspect of the study is the tracking of eagles during their juvenile years. Researchers were able to attach GPS tracking devices to nestlings and track them as they grow, feed, mate and build their own nests. Very little is known about eagles during the juvenile stage, so the tracking data is especially valuable.

“The value of the tracking dataset to eagle conservation – and its contribution to our understanding of eagle ecology – is immeasurable,” explained Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology, in a LiveScience.com article. “Understanding patterns in eagle movement across the landscape is key to the responsible placement of hazards such as power lines, wind turbines and cell towers, and for avoiding bird-aircraft collisions near airports. Hidden within this dataset are migratory pathways that eagles have used throughout the Northeast for thousands of years, seasonal patterns of foraging locations and revelations for how birds move along local stream corridors.”

GPS Devices Could Help Save “Critically Endangered” African Dama Gazelles

April 27th, 2013

The majestic dama gazelles of Africa are officially listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List for Threatened Species. There is an estimated population of as few as 300 gazelles remaining in their natural habitat. However, there are around 800 healthy gazelles roaming a 20,000-acre ranch in Texas. In an effort to save the dama gazelle population in Africa, researchers are studying the habits of the gazelles in Texas using GPS tracking.

Dr. Elizabeth Cary Mungall, the Second Ark Foundation’s science officer and adjunct professor at Texas Woman’s University teamed up with Dr. Susan Cooper, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research wildlife scientist from Uvalde’s Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in this study. Dr. Cooper offered some expertise in GPS tracking from a study involving white-tailed deer. “Here at the center, we have been using GPS tracking collars on white-tailed deer to conduct research on how their use of habitat changes in response to different land management practices, as well as their interaction with other animals, which is relevant in potential disease transfer,” Dr. Susan Cooper explained. “We fitted GPS collars on more than 100 animals for investigation purposes, including deer, cattle, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes and feral hogs.”

The GPS tracking units are located at the top of collars attached to the gazelles. The collars also have a battery, antenna and a timed drop-off device designed to remove the collar at a specified time. “This eliminates the need to recapture the animal to retrieve the collar at the end of the study,” said Dr. Cooper. “The transmitter collars are commercial tracking collars, but for the gazelle study the collars were colored so that each animal can be easily identified by its bright necklace.”

Although there are so few gazelles left in their core natural habitat in the Sahara desert of Africa, researchers are hopeful that repopulation is possible. “The dama gazelles in Texas are realistic candidates for reintroduction into their native areas as well as ideal safeguards against extinction in the wild, since all of them originally came from Africa,” said Mungall. “Once we learn how they use their range in Texas, we can apply this information to help the species both here and during any possible future restocking efforts to bring them back to their native African habitat. This data will help land managers better estimate breeding patterns and the population numbers that can be supported under various conditions.

GPS Devices Used To Track Wild African Elephants In Kenya

April 25th, 2013

Here at the RMT blog, we’ve posted many stories about GPS technology being used to track wildlife. GPS devices allow researchers to monitor the movement and behavior of wildlife from a distance. This method of tracking is ideal because it doesn’t require human presence to witness the animals’ behavior. Firstly, it is very difficult for researchers to gather so much information when relying on their eyes and ears alone. Secondly, the GPS tracking devices let the wildlife move more naturally without being disturbed by human sights, smells and sounds.

One of the more recent applications of GPS wildlife tracking is taking place in and around the Amboseli National Park in Kenya. The International Fund for Animal Welfare School of Field Studies teamed up with Kenya Wildlife Services to tracking and study elephants in the area. Kenya currently has an estimated elephant population of around 37,000. This particular study has cost around $100,000 U.S. and will follow six elephants for a 20-month period. There are a total of 60 elephants in Kenya being monitored with GPS devices in similar studies.

In order to track these massive animals, veterinarians from Kenya Wildlife Services locate a herd of elephants in or near Amboseli National Park via helicopter. The vets shoot one or more of the elephants with a tranquilizer gun, assess the general health of the animal and then equip it with a GPS tracking collar. These studies are done as a part of a wider elephant conservation effort. The tracking technology allows researchers to study the real-time migratory patterns among other information which is used to better determine the needs of these great creatures. The more information researchers have about elephants, the better the chances of protecting the species from endangerment and extinction.

UC Santa Cruz Puma Project Concludes 3-Year GPS Tracking Study

April 25th, 2013

Santa Cruz is a highly-populated college town. It just happens to be very close to the Santa Cruz Mountains, which are home to mountain lions, also known as pumas. Mountain lions are powerful predators that are more than willing to migrate into rural neighborhoods when looking for food. Understandably, this has residents of Santa Cruz neighborhoods concerned. More than any threat to human life, pumas are known to prey on farm animals, causing financial strain for the local farmers. Researchers from UC Santa Cruz started the UC Santa Cruz Puma Project in 2008, in order to better understand how these mountain lions are affected by human development.

Using GPS tracking devices, the researchers were able to monitor the movements of pumas in the Santa Cruz area. “Depending on their behavior, animals respond very differently to human development,” explained Chris Wilmers, associate professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. The Lions are “totally willing to brave rural neighborhoods, but when it comes to reproductive behavior and denning they need more seclusion.” A total of 20 pumas were equipped with GPS tracking collars. The researchers captured and anesthetized 37 mountain lions, determined their sex, weight and measurements before tagging their ears and fitting them with GPS collars. However, only 20 of the 37 pumas were closely monitored, including 12 females and 8 males.

From 2008 to 2011, the UC Santa Cruz Puma Project followed the predators across 6,600 square miles. The team noted areas where the pumas would gather, locating dens, feeding sites and communication areas. Monitoring showed that females were willing to venture into populated areas to find food for their growing broods, but need a larger buffer from human development for things like mating. “In addition, pumas give a wider berth to types of human development that provide a more consistent source of human interface,” wrote the authors of the study. These types of development include neighborhoods, as opposed to major roads or highways, where the presence of humans is more intermittent.

Zoologists Use GPS to Track Endangered Kenyan Antelope

April 16th, 2013

GPS tracking is one of the easiest new ways to keep tabs on pets. Dogs and cats are fitted with monitoring devices so their owners can know where they’ve been, where they’re going, and what their habits are. Apparently pet lovers aren’t the only ones to use electronic monitoring on their furry friends. Conservationists and zoologists are now using GPS tracking to learn more about endangered species of animals. For instance, in the northeast part of Kenya a herd of rare antelope, the hirola, is being tracked in hopes of saving their breed.

Conservationists and the Zoological Society of London are concerned that the hirolas’ numbers are dwindling dangerously low— having lost almost 90% of the population in just 30 years. In hopes of learning more about the less than 500 antelope left on the planet and how to bolster their population, conservationists have fitted nine hirola of seven separate herds with GPS trackers to follow them on their migration patterns. Primarily done by studying their hoof prints and refuse left behind, the distinction of the herds was difficult to determine because lack of water in the region has caused the rare antelope to retreat to areas with more numerous watering holes and better access to food, a main reason for the hirolas’ endangered population besides poaching by hunters, removal of their natural environment, and being killed by animals who prey on their herds for food.

Thanks to GPS tracking, conservationists can now learn the information they need to know not only to hopefully protect the hirola from extinction but also to bolster their dwindling population. The tracking devices used will automatically detach from the tagged antelope in summer of 2014, but in the meantime zoologists will be able to study their normal travel habits. The GPS equipment will record the coordinates of the hirola intermittently, about three hours apart, for the year.

A similar method has been used to track endangered South African rhinos by embedding a GPS tracking chip deep within their horns. The rhinos are monitored, and based upon their activity whether sprinting, sleeping, or leaving the predetermined location, wardens are always at the ready if needed to respond to poaching attempts.

GPS Tracking of Migrating Birds

April 7th, 2013

Scientists recently gathered in Israel to discuss the potential of GPS tracking of migrating birds. They are specifically concerned, at least initially, with the migratory patterns of ospreys.

The Birds

The osprey is an ideal bird for the application of GPS technology, because its migratory paths are very predictable. During its first year of life, a juvenile osprey bird flies south on its own to locate a warm spot for the winter. Since it is too young to mate, it remains in its temperate location for an entire year before migrating north in the spring. Each fall, the osprey will return to the same spot for the winter, if possible using the exact same tree to roost. In the United States, ospreys are concentrated near the East Coast and are commonly seen in the Chesapeake Bay area, the New England Coast, the Great Lakes, and Florida. Birds in this area typically travel to South America during their migratory trip. Ospreys are also known to live in Great Britain, traveling over France and arriving in the Sahara Desert for the colder months. Other groups of birds originate in central European countries such as Finland, and then travel through Israel before arriving at their destination in Cameroon or other eastern African countries.

Tracking the Ospreys

One osprey expert, Dr. Rob Bierregaard, has been utilizing GPS tracking of migrating birds since 2000. So far, he has placed the trackers on around 60 birds. Currently, he is attempting to target juvenile ospreys, but this is a difficult task since many young birds do not survive their first migration. This problem, combined with the $4,000 price tag of each transmitter, has made his project a slow process. Other researchers in the UK and Israel are also tracking birds in their areas of the world.

The Potential for the Future

These researchers hope to use GPS technology to pool information among researchers and also expand the involvement of schools. This partnership is already occurring on a small scale. For instance, schools in the Rutland district of Great Britain are partnering with schools in the country of Gambia to follow the same birds and exchange information about their observations. Researchers hope to expand these types of programs to more African schools. In addition, they dream of establishing a bird migration website similar to Google Earth that would use GPS data to track the paths of the birds.

This type of tracking technology is obviously not limited to ospreys. Its potential can be expanded to include other species of birds and even mammals. There is certainly a wealth of possibilities yet untapped in the study and application of GPS tracking of migratory birds.

Rhino Horns & GPS Trackers

March 12th, 2013

The rhinoceros is one of the most endangered animals in Africa, but GPS trackers may help to save it. The reason for the animal’s critical status is the value of its horn, which in its powdered form now rivals the price of gold. This powder is used in several traditional Asian medicines. The desire to obtain this valuable commodity has driven poachers to kill more than 500 rhinos in the past year alone.

The Rhino and Nature Preserve in South Africa has launched a new effort, called the Rhino Rescue Project, to combat this problem. Rather than try to prevent the poaching or even catch the poachers, their plan is to eliminate the demand for the rhino horn and thus remove the reason for the poaching. In order for their method to work, however, they must first catch the rhino. That task achieved, they then inject the horn of the rhino with a bright, indelible dye (like that used by banks in robberies), a GPS microchip, and a non-lethal poison (harmful to humans not the rhino). Each of these items plays its own unique role in discouraging further poaching. The dye turns the rhino’s horn pink, thus destroying its value and making it difficult to transport since the color remains even after the horn is ground to powder. The poison makes the powder of the horn useless as a medicine since it will cause nausea and vomiting in any human that ingests it. The GPS trackers enable conservationists to track the locations of the treated rhinos. Some of these trackers are programmed to send out an alarm if the rhino begins to move rapidly, as would occur if it was being pursued by poachers. This information can enable the poachers to be caught red-handed, hopefully before they successfully kill the rhino. If they do manage to get away with their prize, the GPS device contained in the horn will reveal their location to law enforcement officials.

The Rhino Rescue Project has been busy spreading the news through signage and word of mouth that rhinos have been treated in this way and are thus useless to poachers. They report that their efforts have paid off as no treated rhinos have been killed in the Preserve since they began the project. Dye, poison, and GPS trackers seem to be doing a good job of protecting the rhinos.