Rocky Mountain Tracking » Wildlife Tracking

GPS Involved In Leopard Killing Controversy

Mark Rummel — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:00:08 +0000

Numerous animal conservation efforts around the world have discovered the usefulness of GPS technology for the purpose of keeping track of individual members of endangered species. By attaching a tracker to an animal, project supervisors can give it freedom to roam naturally while keeping an eye on its movement. If the animal wanders into a dangerous area like a highway or village, they can quickly recapture it and return it to safety.

This was the method in use during a program to study a population of about 500 extremely rare, critically endangered leopards in South Africa. About 23 of the leopards now wear GPS trackers, and there are also infrared cameras hidden in their habitat to provide even more detailed information on their activity. The program, led by a conservation group called the Landmark Foundation, gets assistance from a government organization, CapeNature. Under normal circumstances, the partnership works well.

In September 2011, however, an official with CapeNature ordered that one of the tracker-fitted leopards be shot after it killed two calves belonging to a local farmer. Judging that the predator’s presence in the area posed an unacceptable threat to local cattle farmers, the official gave the order and the leopard was killed.

Conflict between farmers and endangered predators is not a new or local problem. Further north on the African continent, lions and humans are in constant tension in many areas, struggling to balance habitat preservation with the safety of both farm animals and humans. In some cases, a single problem animal can be transferred to another area, but a South African leopard expert says that relocation does not usually work with leopards.

Obviously, this situation has created a rift between the Landmark Foundation and CapeNature. The Landmark Foundation is indignant over what it labels an illegal killing of an extremely rare animal, while CapeNature insists the killing was the only possible solution to the problem. This disagreement places the entire study in danger, as cooperation between the two groups is necessary for success. It appears that there may be additional problems with communication, as the Landmark Foundation says that it would have been willing to pay for protection for the farmer’s cattle in the form of an electric fence and even guard animals. They say the leopard was so valuable to the species’ recovery that any expense would have been acceptable in order to keep it alive.

GPS Used To Count Pheasants

Mark Rummel — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:00:04 +0000

In the land of the kiwi, GPS tracking is making the job of Fish & Game officers easier as they prepare for the game bird hunting season beginning in May of 2012. The government of New Zealand conducts field studies during the breeding season to gauge how hunting has affected game bird populations, and adjust regulations and hunting quotas accordingly.

Pheasants are one of the most popular game birds in the country, and traditionally officers have counted them by listening for the calls of male birds. They have continued that method this year, and have used their findings to determine that the pheasant population is remaining stable as compared with past years’ counts. However, a newer counting procedure has the Fish & Game department hoping to gain a more accurate and geographically definite picture of the pheasant population.

Hunting dogs naturally have a fantastic ability to seek out roosting birds, and can be trained to flush them out. While this ability is usually harnessed to help hunters, Fish & Game officers are using it to help them count birds. By fitting the collars of dogs with GPS tracking devices and then releasing them into specific wooded areas, they can pinpoint the exact location of the birds that the dogs flush out. This method makes it easy for officers to quickly gain an accurate count and also get a better understanding of what types of habitat the pheasants prefer.

While the GPS-equipped dog system is a great counting method, it does not appear that the Fish & Game administration intends to replace their previous method of gauging population levels by listening for calling cock pheasants. Rather, they will compare the results of the two different counts to determine how they can use the calling pheasant counts to accurately predict the total number of pheasants. Using dogs to disrupt pheasants is a far more invasive method than simply listening to birds without interacting with them, so it may not be a favorable long term solution. However, it does give officers an opportunity to compare their counts against the “real” number of birds in an area.

It is important to note that while GPS technology is very helpful in establishing the populations of game birds, using it while actually hunting is illegal in most cases. The sport of hunting puts a high priority on the “fair chase,” and using GPS tracking to locate animals or notify other hunters of animals’ locations is considered unfair.

Using GPS to Eradicate Pests on a Remote Island

Mark Rummel — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:00:59 +0000

The weather on Macquarie Island, an island over 750 miles south of Australia, often has bitter weather. The 50-plus mile per hour winds and driving precipitation can quickly cause unbearable conditions on the island. With only 30 residents on the island, the population is small, but they have a pretty large pest problem. Peter Preston and his team of 14 hunters are using GPS technology to help eradicate the rodents and rabbits that are filling the island.

The small island is an interesting part of the world that was once filled with farmers and explorers that were driven away by the enormous amounts of rabbits, seals, seabirds, penguins, and rodents. These pests have destroyed colonies and rare vegetation, native to the island. With the $24.6 million project and the help of GPS technology, the hunters were able to drop over 300 tons of poison around the island. Rabbits have been tracked and killed, and very few are left throughout the island.

Because of the difficult weather conditions, GPS is important to tracking locations and setting up traps and poisons. Each hunter is equipped with traps, GPS transmitters, guns, shovels, flashlights, emergency equipment, maps, and other essentials. These packs weigh a considerable amount, but they are helpful when hunting the various pests.

Macquarie Island was discovered in 1810, and it is the base for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. It is a wildlife sanctuary, and it is on the World Heritage List. In 2010, the pest project began, and the number of unwanted pests on the island has quickly dwindled to a very low amount. The hunters and dog handlers that work on the island describe the project as an enjoyable and worthwhile project that can make a difference.

GPS Collar Shows Famous Wolf Lingering Near California State Border

Marisa O'Connor — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:29:45 +0000

OR7, a lone, gray wolf, has made headlines around the world. Thanks to GPS tracking technology, wildlife biologists and the public have been able to track the illusive predator 761-miles across the northern United States. In February 2011, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife were able to shoot OR7 with a tranquilizer dart from a helicopter. The 2-year-old gray wolf was equipped with a collar with a GPS tracking device attached, before being released.

For the past few months, OR7 has remained in the same 100-mile range in the Oregon Cascades, just 40 miles away from the California state border. A wolf in the Cascades is too close for comfort for some California residents. Should OR7 cross the border, he would be the first recorded wild wolf in California since 1924. “We’re not planning to reintroduce wolves,” said California Department of Fish and Game ecologist, Mark Stopher. “They’re going to show up on their own.”

It is not unusual for wolves to break from their packs and travel long distances to establish new territory. What makes OR7′s journey special is that wildlife biologists have been mapping his movements with a GPS tracking device. “What’s been most impressive about this animal is how much, even though it’s staying in that same general area of late, it still makes large movements: 10, 15, 20 miles in a night over the mountains,” said John Stephenson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Oregon wolf coordinator.

“Folks are really fighting wolf recovery. . . because they perceive it as the big bad federal government or the terrible people in the Willamette Valley in Oregon bringing back an animal that their grandparents wiped out for good cause,” explained Steve Pedery, Oregon Wild’s conservation director. “It’s really more of a debate over values than it is about wolves and what they actually do.” He hopes that people will come to terms with the return of the gray wolf in California. “Wolves stoke the emotional fires, but we should look at it as a very good thing,” he adds. “It’s part of the ecosystem.”

Booming Bighorn Sheep Population Tracked with GPS Collars

Marisa O'Connor — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:00:41 +0000

The desert is not an easy place to survive, even for animals that evolved to tolerate desert conditions. Bighorn sheep were virtually driven from their Texan desert homes by the 1960s. Various factors contributed to their dwindling numbers. The introduction of domestic sheep to the area, disease and unregulated hunting are believed to be the primary culprits. “The last recorded sighting was in the Sierra Diablo region in October 1958. They were gone by the 1960s,” said Froylan Hernandez, TPW bighorn sheep project manager. Fortunately, however, conservation efforts with the help of GPS tracking show that bighorn sheep have returned to the area.

“The population is back up to about 1,500 in eight mountain ranges.” said Hernandez. “We’re about half-way there,” referring to the projects goal of 3,000 bighorn sheep populating the West Texas mountain ranges. Sul Ross State University is working closely with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Bighorn Society to increase the bighorn sheep population in the area. In a team effort last week, these groups were able to capture 95 bighorn, 76 ewes and 19 rams by helicopter from the Van Horn-area ranches.

“Our role is data collection,” explained Louis Harveson, director of the Borderlands Research Institute and Sul Ross professor of Wildlife Management. The wild animals were carefully studied to determine their general health. Data was collected about their condition and a GPS tracking collar was attached to 43 of the animals. Once processed, they were delivered to Big Bend Ranch State Park.

“Having the basic information is important, but we will also be able to use the data for future location efforts,” said Thomas Janke of Granger, a graduate student leading the research team. “By determining the range, the elevation and the steepness of slope, we will be able to learn what mountain ranges are most suitable for locating more sheep.” The GPS tracking collars will monitor the sheep for two years, after which, they will simply fall off the animals. Janke has a total of 71 animals to monitor, including 28 that were released last year. He says, “in theory, they will be able to learn some survival techniques from the sheep already there and have a better chance of surviving.”

Rare, Lone Wolf Tracked to Oregon Cascades

Marisa O'Connor — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:26:15 +0000

OR-7 is a 2 1/2-year-old male grey wolf, now famous for his impressive 730-mile trek across the state of Oregon. The wolf was captured last winter and was fitted with a GPS tracking device. OR-7 apparently didn’t think much of its experience as a captor, and travelled an impressive distance to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon’s Cascades. Although Oregon is home to more than 24 known wolves, OR-7 is the first wolf to take up residence in the Cascades in more than 60 years.

“They are definitely a pack animal,” says John Stephenson. “But he’s a long way away from where other wolves are that we know about. My hunch is he’s by himself.” Stephenson and his team decided to take a closer look than the GPS tracking allows, to see whether or not his hunch is correct. They travelled out to Crater Lake, following the wolf’s GPS signal, to see if they could get a glimpse of the reclusive animal. Once they are a bit closer, Stephenson turned off the GPS tracking device, and activated a radio-telemetry receiver.

Despite the technological advantage, OR-7 stayed out of sight of Stephenson’s team. The wolf did, however, leave enough clues for the researchers to answer their question. The team found an elk carcass rotting near an area the GPS showed OR-7 loitering, indicating the wolf had stopped to snack on the beast before moving on. More significant, however, were the large wolf tracks found in the snow nearby.

The paw prints were 5-by-5 inches, with a stride length of 67 inches. The wolf left only one set of tracks, confirming John Stephenson’s suspicion that OR-7 remains a lone wolf. OR-7 is particularly reclusive and, as all wild animals, dangerous. Tourists hoping to see a wolf will have much more luck at Yellowstone National Park than Crater Lake National Park.

Envirol to Keep Illegal Grease Dumping at Bay

Khristen Foss — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:36:20 +0000

Dubai has teamed up with Al Serkal group and created Envirol, a facility designed to transform waste grease from environmental hazard to numerous products such as biodiesel. This will help the city clean up its act and pinpoint businesses not doing their part towards a cleaner world.

Elham Pourtangesti is the plant manager at Envirol, and explains that only a small amount of grease is harmful to the environment, and over time this will ultimately lead to the demise of the sewer system, causing extensive damage costing the city millions of dirhams.

He adds that it will also be detrimental to restaurants, contaminating their kitchens. “The solution is grease traps…and the recycling plant set up jointly between Al Serkal and Dubai Municipality to recycle the waste to irrigation water, biodiesel, clean oil and fertilizer.”

How will this work? The companies manufacturing and selling the grease traps will issue the buyer an Envirol coupon developed to aid in tracking who exactly is disposing of the waste grease in an illegal manner. These companies will also be required to install GPS tracking devices on any vehicles that will dispose of this grease at Envirol, and this does not make business owners happy.

Some have already voiced their concern over Envirol being able to see their every move, and a lot of these owners have already pumped massive amounts of money into installing GPS devices on their vehicles already. However, Envirol is seeing whether they can link these existing devices up to their own tracking system to appease them.

The majority of the companies affected by these regulations agree with it all, like Simone Macatangay of Trashco. “It is a good thing. It will eliminate the people that are not really involved in the system and that are not consious of our environment. All of us here have a deep concern for our environment and we want the help of Al Serkal and Dubai Municipality to help solve the problems of Dubai.”

The use of the coupons will begin immediately, however the GPS device installation is still up in the air.

Photo By Gothick_Matt via Flickr Creative Commons

Gulls Gathering in Dangerous Numbers at Wachusett Reservior

Marisa O'Connor — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:00:41 +0000

Wildlife abounds in the Boston area, specifically in the Swift River and Wachusett Reservoir. Unseasonably warm weather means people are heading outdoors to take advantage of all the activities they will soon be unable to enjoy, like fishing. All along the lower portion of the Swift River, Ted Merchant and Larry Bush, from Trout Unlimited, have been catching plenty of fish from the usually productive region of the river. Less common, however, are the loads of salmon being caught farther upstream. In addition to unusual numbers of fish, there are also reports of alarmingly large populations of seagulls gathering around the Wachusett Reservoir. Scientists are using GPS tracking, among other things, to understand where the gulls are coming from and why.

Just above the Route 9 bridge in Belchertown, the Swift River is home to dozens of landlocked salmon. The excess of salmon was brought to the area by natural causes. The large amounts of rainfall brought on the area by Tropical Storm Irene caused flooding which carried the salmon from the reservoir over the spillway. The team from Trout Unlimited have had success catching some surprisingly large salmon using proven fly fishing techniques. In fact, they’ve had so much success, that they are offering free fly-tying workshops every Thursday at 6 p.m.. The workshops are open to the public and held at the Mass Audubon’s Broadmeadow Brook Sanctuary.

The dense population of gulls congregating at the Wachusett Reservior, however, is believed to be caused by human influence and likely has much more serious consequences. DCR scientist Dan Clark is leading a team to study the massive influx of gulls. He’s attached GPS tracking devices to study the migration habits of the birds.

The GPS tracking has shown that the gulls have travelled from as far as Iceland, stopping at the reservoir in order to feed on their way back from breeding at the Great Lakes. The over-population is believed to be due to people illegally feeding the gulls. It is dangerous for too many birds to gather at reservoirs, as their feces and parasites contaminate our drinking water.

Photo Courtesy of xlibber (creative commons)

Tracking the Elusive Snow Leopard

Hillary Mayfield — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:00:18 +0000

Snow leopards have been on the endangered species list since 1972 without any indication of making a comeback. Now conservationists are seeking to understand the migratory and social patterns of these elusive creatures in order to help protect their environments. These animals are solitary and nocturnal, living in the high mountains of Central Asia and the Himalayas; since these conditions are not suitable for humans, researchers cannot always know exactly how these animals live. They hope information retrieved from GPS tracking collars will give them the information they need to establish protected areas for these magnificent creatures.

In order to collar a snow leopard, researchers use non-invasive foot snares that contain a radio device; when an animal triggers the snare, a signal is sent to alert the research team. The animal is then anesthetized, assessed for important data, collared, and released. Biologists are able to record the age, sex, weight, and size of the animal for accurate identification.

The animal is then tracked via satellite. After 14 months, the collar falls off. Several leopards have been collared over the last couple of years, including Khashaa and her male cub just recently. Researchers are excited about this collaring because they have yet to observe how a male cub interacts with its mother before heading out on its own.

In 2010 Taeger and Zaraa were tagged, a mother-daughter pair; since females are harder to track because of their secretive nature, the team is anxious for the opportunity to observe the movement patterns of an independent male for the purpose of setting boundaries for a reserve.

Researchers hope to find out more accurately the snow leopards’ range of activity and how much room they need to not only survive but thrive. Current studies estimate a range as wide as 65 sq. km to 1000 sq. km. Brad Rutherford, director of the Snow Leopard Trust, notes, “You cannot have an appropriately sized protected area with that kind of discrepancy.” With locals and hunters encroaching on the snow leopards’ hunting grounds, conservationists fear further endangerment of the species. They hope that with more accurate data, they can fight for snow leopard reserves in order to protect these animals from food shortages, retaliatory killings, and poachers.

Without better protection for these majestic and beautiful animals, snow leopards may die out altogether. Conservationists hope to use data collected from GPS tracking collars to lobby governments for not only reserve land but also laws to curtail the killing of these endangered animals. With the help of modern technology, the snow leopard may once again flourish on the mountaintop.

OR-7 (The Lone Wolf) Continues to Travel

Khristen Foss — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:57:59 +0000

OR-7, the name given to a young Oregon wolf by researchers who are tracking his whereabouts via GPS device fitted back in February, is famous wherever he meanders. The wolf’s family is originally from Idaho, and were the topic of a recent RMT article as there is a kill order in place for both OR-7′s brother and alpha male father.

OR-7 is on the hunt for a mate outside of his home territory, and his search has taken a long, zig-zag route over a mind boggling distance. This is natural, says Ed Bangs, a former US Fish and Wildlife Service wolf coordinator, now retired. “If you connect all the dots, she walked something like 3,000 miles. Wolves are amazing travelers.” All wolves reach a point in their development, usually around two years of age, when they leave their territory to seek out a mate.

OR-7 left Idaho and reached the Rogue-Umpqua Divide, ironically the very place Oregon’s last known wolf was killed in 1946. He followed the boundary of Crater Lake National Park and then headed to Upper Klamath Lake. From here, he trekked back up the Cascades and crested just south of Mount McLaughlin.

No cattle have been killed by the wolf thus far in his extensive journey across Oregon. This is good news for the wolf, who has captured the hearts of the public, hoping to sneak a peek at this beautiful creature. Liz Parrish has been lucky enough to see OR-7 in front of her backcountry lodge, locking eyes with him for a moment. “I was stunned – it was such a huge animal…we had a stare-down that seemed like a long time, but was probably just a few seconds. He just evaporated into the trees. I stayed there a while, hoping he might come back. He didn’t.”

There are those that aren’t thrilled to hear there is a wolf in the area, namely cattle ranchers like Nathan Jackson who owns a ranch on Upper Klamath Lake. “In this country, we worked really hard to exterminate wolves 50 years ago or so, and there was a reason. A lot of people who don’t have a direct tie to the agricultural community tend to view wolves as majestic, beautiful creatures. They don’t seem so majestic and beautiful when they are ripping apart calves and colts.”

There is a naming contest sponsored by conservation group Oregon Wild in the hopes that if the public helps in the naming process, it will make the wolf more well known, possibly saving his life by giving him a sort of celebrity status. The contest has received entries from all over, including one from Finland.

Researchers do not know if OR-7 will be successful in his quest for a mate. All he can do is wander and leave scent markers to hopefully attract a female his way. Bangs says most of the wolves in this predicament become “biological dead ends.” He adds that even if OR-7 dies in his quest to reproduce, his scent markers will remain, attracting more wolves and reestablishing the species in this area. From what researchers have seen, he may not be alone as other tracks have been spotted last winter, and others in muddy areas in May.