Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 33
Tracking the herd
Jackson Fish Biologist Diana Miller fastens an ear tag to a cow elk at the Horse Creek elk feedground in February. (Photo by
Mark Gocke/WGFD)
Ear tags like the ones affixed to the elk I
harvested are fairly common now, but initial
research of ungulates in the early 20th century was rudimentary- relying heavily on
time spent in the field spotting elk, deer and
pronghorn. According to "Wild Migrations:
Atlas of Wyoming's Ungulates", in the 1960s
researchers John Craighead, Gerry Atwell and
Bart O'Gara took to the skies with helicopters,
driving elk into corrals. The elk were fitted
with color-coded collars and released. As the
seasons changed, the collared elk became easily
recognizable throughout the rest of the year.
Observations and data gathered through these
efforts proved animals moved across the landscape annually, though exact routes were to
be discovered later with the use of very high
frequency or VHF technology.
Researchers used VHF technology to pinpoint locations of collared animals fairly accurately without observing them directly. The
novel precision using radio-telemetry enables
biologists to plot and track the annual distribution of wildlife.
"VHF technology has been used in wildlife
research for more than 50 years and is still
widely used today," said Grant Frost, Game and
Fish senior wildlife biologist. "I'm currently
tracking about 1,800 VHF collar frequencies
in the state. This method of tracking animals
helps guide management decisions and can
shed light on behaviors of species we work
to protect."
Though simple methods of technology are
still used, researchers now have an arsenal of
high-tech options that will locate animals with
stunning accuracy.
More than distribution
A newly-collared cow elk is released from a capture facility at the Fish Creek elk feedground located in the Gros Ventre
drainage northeast of Jackson. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
While tagging technology began with
observing seasonal distributions, objectives
change depending on the issues at hand. Tags
and technology allow wildlife managers to
better understand where animals move, what
barriers wildlife encounter, identify habitats
where animals spend time, impacts of disease
and more.
"These tags are important tools for researching many species of wildlife," said Brandon
Scurlock, Game and Fish Pinedale wildlife
management coordinator. "Ultimately, tags
give us information about an individual animal, and we can use data collected from hundreds of animals to better understand what's
happening in a population as a whole."
Wyoming Wildlife | 33
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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