A different side of working with animals
Post by 2022 student Grace Covan
In the third section of the project, we focused on gathering information on wildlife in the areas of our plots. We used two different techniques. The first step was to conduct cavity nest surveys in the area surrounding our plots to collect information. The next step was to build exclosures with a wildlife camera in the center.
The cavity nest survey was probably my least favorite part of the project largely because the plots I participated in sampling had little to no cavities present. The cavity nest surveys are conducted across transects in each cardinal direction. After a cavity is discovered, we filled out a extensive data sheet to have a record of where the cavity was found, the direction of the cavity, and any information we could describe about what species may be using the cavity. One of the trees we recorded had two cavities directly in line with each other which seemed to be used by two different species based on the size of the cavities. It had not occurred to me that different species may be using the same tree. While I didn’t love this section of the project, I think it will be interesting to see if the cavities we recorded are still active in the years to come.
The second set of sampling we did required us to build mammal exclosures out of t-posts, hog wire, and wildlife cameras. These exclosures will prevent large mammals and cattle from eating the forage inside of the fence which will allow us to collect data on forage growth and management. The cameras inside of the exclosures will allow us to collect data about what large mammals are in the area. The exclosures and cameras will stay up for a year and be collected by the next class who comes to the ranch. I hope that seeing the pictures from these cameras will be exciting for the next class as putting them up was one of my favorite parts of our field work.
One of the highlights of not only this section but of the entire class was meeting with wildlife biologist, Rebecca Newton. Rebecca works for the Bureau of Land Management, and she provided a lot of insight on native birds. She was also able to correct some of the data we had collected during our cavity nest surveys which was extremely helpful. I really enjoyed listening to Rebecca and comparing the route she took to get to her job to the stories we heard from Tony Mong. Tony is a large animal wildlife biologist in Wyoming while Rebecca works primarily with birds. I had no idea how the masters and doctorate programs worked when you are interested in studying wildlife, but I did learn it is very different from the process of studying Animal Veterinary Science. It was also very helpful to hear Tony’s explain how he ultimately ended up at the job he wanted if though he had to go the long way to get there. This was very encouraging as I am beginning the process of applying to vet school.
The wildlife section is probably the one that taught me the most of this project which was surprising since my major is Animal Science. While we sometimes study native animals, we don’t ever focus on them or spend much time learning about them. I even learned about species that I didn’t know lived in Montana. I don’t think I’ll be changing my major anytime soon, but it really gave me a new appreciation to see a different side of working with animals that you can’t always handle.
