Wildlife and Biologist Influence

            When people discuss humanity’s effect on wildlife it comes with a negative connotation. People hear about the negative impact that humans have and will hear how there are decreasing populations of wildlife and that human influence is forcing animals to change many of their natural habits to survive in this modern world. But what about the biologist that are conducting the research and their impact on wildlife? If researcher’s actions potentially risk the health and life of an animal, can it reasonably be said that the research was worth it? These are questions that critics of wildlife research have that should be addressed. When it comes to wildlife the potential risks are far outweighed by the benefits of being able to help the majority.

            While many people feel that wildlife has survived without human help and that human interference of any sort can only do more harm than good, it is important to remember that their world has changed because of human influence. A good example is bighorn sheep in northern Nevada. The bighorn sheep in northern Nevada had no trouble surviving before Americans brought domestic sheep. However with the introduction of domestic sheep, bighorn sheep began dying off rapidly to sicknesses from domestic sheep. One job that NDOW’s Game Division has to deal with is monitoring bighorn sheep populations and movements. This is because any bighorn sheep that come in contact with domestic sheep can get pneumonia and bring it back to the rest of the herd, causing a die out that can wipe out entire groups of sheep. With this in mind, biologist view any influence from surveying and collaring of bighorn sheep as necessary to protect the population.

            Another argument that is made is that the use of collars and tags has too many negative affects to be used. Tracking collars, tags, and pit tags can be used to identify wildlife individually and be used to track wildlife movement with satellites and telemetry gear. This is very convenient for researchers and provides a plethora of information about the wildlife, but the process of tagging or putting a collar on an animal can be very stressful even when sedatives are administered. After the event of having a tracking collar put on, the simple act of wearing a collar could be difficult for the animal. To address the issues of wildlife wearing a collar biologist do their best to attach the collars in manner that is loose enough to account for growth and breathing, while still being tight enough to not fall off. Collars are also set with a timer that makes them fall off the animal after a while to be retrieved by the biologist, thus preventing an animal from completely outgrowing its collar.

            By carefully researching and managing wildlife, biologists are better equipped to preserve and promote wildlife. Though this can seem like an unnatural order of things, the world that we live in has many things that are unnatural to them which can prove hazardous. To preserve larger numbers of wildlife human intervention has become a necessity and will be as long as there is still a human influence.

Works Cited:

“Keith Goetzman.” UTNE, When Tagging Animals Goes Wrong.2011. Web. 2016.

           

Humboldt Elk Plan Debate

            When dealing with public lands there will always different ideas about what is the best use for public lands. The Humboldt County Elk Management Plan as stated by the Board of Wildlife Commissioners is a plan to establish and manage elk herds in Humboldt county in a manner that minimizes conflict and maximizes cooperation with existing livestock management, private lands, and other wildlife.  The debates between ranchers and state officials over the use of land have been a constant debate. This doesn’t mean that any side is necessarily wrong or that either side is necessarily better, but people will support whatever they feel serves their own interests and what they think is better for the common good.

        Farmers and ranchers have concerns that larger elk populations will have a negative impact on their livelihood. This is argued with several different reasoning’s including Elk grazing on their fields and consuming product. Another concern is that a ranchers AUM’s will be decreased by the increased elk population. AUM’s stand for animal unit month, which is defined as the amount of forage needed to feed a thousand pound cow that has a calf. AUM’s are a big deal to ranchers since they decide how long rancher can keep a certain amount of cattle on BLM land for an allotted of time. With AUM’s being so important ranchers place high value on them the question that ranchers have is if the new elk populations will reduce their AUM’s. The answer is yes AUM’s will be reduced to preserve grasses for wildlife and to prevent excess erosion.

            On the other side of the argument is the state and others who promote elk expansion. This includes hunters and conservationist who support elk expansion for separate reasons. Hunters tend to support the Humboldt elk plan for an increase in future elk populations which can then be hunted for sport and appreciated for their aesthetic beauty. The aesthetic appreciation is also part of the reasoning for conservationist’s interest in elk expansion. The state see’s all these benefits and also sees a chance to get elk back into old territory that used to have greater populations of elk.

            Both sides of the debate about the Humboldt County Elk Plan have legitimate reasons for what they support. Whether to say that ranchers and farmers and their concerns about their income and the effects of reduced AUM’s and produce, or the state and the conservationist who want to promote a larger population of elk for aesthetic purposes and for future hunting. What is certain however is that cooperation between the two sides can lead to better resolutions that can be more beneficial all sides.

A Look into Sirtrack

            As new problems arise in our modern day society, new solutions will have to be implemented to deal with these challenges. One challenge that modern biologist face is keeping track of wildlife locations and where their tracks are generally located. This can be an important task for several reasons like recording travel for research and to help preserve wildlife by limiting contact with domestic livestock and humans. One method to keep track of wildlife is to utilize collars that have telemetry and can be tracked by satellites; one of the best systems to do this is using sirtrack. Sirtrack and the collars that it employs are tools that can help biologist keep track of wildlife and assist in their studies.

            Sirtrack is a company that specializes in wildlife tracking technologies that utilizes satellites and transmitters that are generally in the form of collars. Sirtrack collars have seen use by many different wildlife organizations in several different countries including Africa, Australia, and the United States. All of these countries utilize sirtrack as a means of wildlife management by coordinating with sirtrack satellites and handheld telemetry units. Sirtrack has changed many things about wildlife management. One important thing besides tracking the paths of wildlife is the ability to identify if an animal is still alive or if it potentially gave birth. This can be done by looking at the animal’s movements to determine how it is moving. With certain species the animal’s movements will change after giving birth, whereas when death occurs a lack of movement is the telltale sign.

       

    

            The advantages that sirtrack brings over older technologies is that basic radio telemetry was limited. A limitation that sirtrack overcomes is the ability to record data without human assistance. This provides a great deal more data to work with that doesn’t require keeping someone in the field on a constant basis. Another advantage that sirtrack possesses is the ability to find the location of collard animals even when the radio signals can’t be received. Since sirtrack uses satellites to record an animal’s location, however telemetry is reliant solely on radio waves which can be hard to receive if an animal is in a canyon.

            Sirtrack and its cutting edge technology are very promising and will likely lead to more developments in the future. Ability to have satellites record data about wildlife movements can provide a great deal of information and save biologists from a great deal of legwork. Sirtrack has demonstrated a very important idea that more data with less work is a key to success in the business of wildlife.