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The most difficult mammals to inventory and determine population
sizes are the carnivores. Carnivores include the mountain lion,
bobcats, coyotes, foxes, ringtail cats, weasels and skunks. These
animals are highly secretive and are most active at night, therefore
seeing them is a rare event. However, we still need to know their
distribution and population sizes to understand things such as predation
rates on other animal species, particularly sensitive species, or
their responses to park management.
Due to the difficulty of direct observation, the park began a pilot
study using remote cameras this past winter. Remote cameras are
on 24 hours a day. These cameras have an infrared motion sensor
that is activated by heat and movement within 100 feet, which then
triggers the camera to take a picture. To entice carnivores to come
near the camera we set out bait such as road killed deer or elk
and lures.
Six cameras were set up during the winter, when more carnivores
are down at lower elevations. Tracks in the snow helped us determine
if the cameras were working properly. During the summer, the cameras
will be moved to mountain passes and remote springs.
Neal Darby, Wildlife Biologist, is working on several projects
this summer including bighorn sheep restoration planning, elk telemetry,
and vegetation and fuels mapping.
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