Collaring Cougars near/on Zion National Park
MuleyMadness
4/16/06 4:11pm
Should be interesting to see the results from this study...
Article published Apr 16, 2006
Cougar collaring done for people's safety
By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN
The breathing is steady. The eyes are open - an ointment is placed in the eyes and the cougar is blindfolded.
The fur is soft - not as soft as a rabbit, but not as coarse as a deer - and under the tail and belly, the fur has a soft, wooly feel.
During this immobilization period, Mike Tamllos, a wildlife biologist with the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, said the temperature, pulse and respiration is all checked and the tracking collar is placed around the animal's neck and checked to make sure it is active.
The animal's measurements and general condition are checked out.
Tamllos said the process of snaring and collaring cougars - such as the project now going on in Zion National Park - is done according to a protocol set by several agencies for the cougar's safety as well as the human's.
"Once we find the snared animal, we immobilize them right away so they don't get too excited or stressed out," Tamllos said. "Then we stay with the animal until the drug wears off."
Tamllos is working with the park to collar four cougars in order to gather data on their movements - especially in the park, which has about 2 million visitors a year.
"There are concerns, of course, about the danger to the community and livestock," said Jeff Bradybaugh, Chief Resource Management and Research Division of Zion National Park. "We are trying to find their movement pattern."
Tamllos said after tracking animals for years, wildlife biologists learn the territorial habits of the cougars and know generally where snares should be placed.
The snares have a safety trigger for people. When a cougar is caught, it sets off a signal so the team can get there at first light and process the animal.
Cougars, Bradybaugh said, have a home range of hundreds of miles. Last year, there were about 10 cougar sightings in the community, but the year before, during a year of drought, it was double that.
The purpose of the study is to find out what affects the cougar's movements and what areas they are using.
The goal is to collar four cougars and, so far, three have been collared - two females 8 and 5 years old and a 21¼2-year-old male.
Bradybaugh said three of the collars have GPS units and the other collar is a satellite collar that several times a day will transmit date to United States Geological Survey. The animal's movements can be accessed via computer.
The GPS collars will store the data and are programmed to come off after two years. With the VHF transmission, the park will be able to recover the collars and download the data to put together a pattern of movements.
Unprovoked, cougars will generally run off, and Bradybaugh said he is sure that the cougars see humans a whole lot more than we see them.
Tamllos, a wildlife biologist for 22 years who gets to see the cougars up close and personal, also has special feelings for the animals
"I enjoy the colors and differences in them," Tamllos said. "They are a perfect animal - nice foot pads and tri-lobe back pads, sharp protected claws that are retractable and canine teeth."
Tamllos said a cougar's mouth opens wide, they are very muscular and have their own strong pungent odor, which he said is difficult to describe.
"It's very impressive when you are sitting there looking at them," Tamllos said. "Plus, it's neat to have then out there even though people don't see them very often."
Article published Apr 16, 2006
Cougar collaring done for people's safety
By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN
The breathing is steady. The eyes are open - an ointment is placed in the eyes and the cougar is blindfolded.
The fur is soft - not as soft as a rabbit, but not as coarse as a deer - and under the tail and belly, the fur has a soft, wooly feel.
During this immobilization period, Mike Tamllos, a wildlife biologist with the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, said the temperature, pulse and respiration is all checked and the tracking collar is placed around the animal's neck and checked to make sure it is active.
The animal's measurements and general condition are checked out.
Tamllos said the process of snaring and collaring cougars - such as the project now going on in Zion National Park - is done according to a protocol set by several agencies for the cougar's safety as well as the human's.
"Once we find the snared animal, we immobilize them right away so they don't get too excited or stressed out," Tamllos said. "Then we stay with the animal until the drug wears off."
Tamllos is working with the park to collar four cougars in order to gather data on their movements - especially in the park, which has about 2 million visitors a year.
"There are concerns, of course, about the danger to the community and livestock," said Jeff Bradybaugh, Chief Resource Management and Research Division of Zion National Park. "We are trying to find their movement pattern."
Tamllos said after tracking animals for years, wildlife biologists learn the territorial habits of the cougars and know generally where snares should be placed.
The snares have a safety trigger for people. When a cougar is caught, it sets off a signal so the team can get there at first light and process the animal.
Cougars, Bradybaugh said, have a home range of hundreds of miles. Last year, there were about 10 cougar sightings in the community, but the year before, during a year of drought, it was double that.
The purpose of the study is to find out what affects the cougar's movements and what areas they are using.
The goal is to collar four cougars and, so far, three have been collared - two females 8 and 5 years old and a 21¼2-year-old male.
Bradybaugh said three of the collars have GPS units and the other collar is a satellite collar that several times a day will transmit date to United States Geological Survey. The animal's movements can be accessed via computer.
The GPS collars will store the data and are programmed to come off after two years. With the VHF transmission, the park will be able to recover the collars and download the data to put together a pattern of movements.
Unprovoked, cougars will generally run off, and Bradybaugh said he is sure that the cougars see humans a whole lot more than we see them.
Tamllos, a wildlife biologist for 22 years who gets to see the cougars up close and personal, also has special feelings for the animals
"I enjoy the colors and differences in them," Tamllos said. "They are a perfect animal - nice foot pads and tri-lobe back pads, sharp protected claws that are retractable and canine teeth."
Tamllos said a cougar's mouth opens wide, they are very muscular and have their own strong pungent odor, which he said is difficult to describe.
"It's very impressive when you are sitting there looking at them," Tamllos said. "Plus, it's neat to have then out there even though people don't see them very often."
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TheGreatwhitehunter
8/22/06 12:18am
thanks for the post
5