Abstract
Wildlife biologists capture deer (Odocoileus spp.) annually to attach transmitters and collect basic information (e.g., animal mass and sex) as part of ongoing research and monitoring activities. Traditional capture techniques induce stress in animals and can be expensive, inefficient, and dangerous. They are also impractical for some urbanized settings. We designed and evaluated a device for mule deer (O. hemionus) that automatically attached an expandable radiocollar to a ≥6-month-old fawn and recorded the fawn's mass and sex, without physically restraining the animal. The device did not require on-site human presence to operate. Students and faculty in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University produced a conceptual model and early prototype. Professional engineers at Dynamic Group Circuit Design, Inc. in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, produced a fully functional prototype of the device. Using the device, we remotely collared, weighed, and identified sex of 8 free-ranging mule deer fawns during winters 2010–2011 and 2011–2012. Collars were modified to shed from deer approximately 1 month after the collaring event. Two fawns were successfully recollared after they shed the first collars they received. Thus, we observed 10 successful collaring events involving 8 unique fawns. Fawns demonstrated minimal response to collaring events, either remaining in the device or calmly exiting. A fawn typically required ≥1 weeks of daily exposure before fully entering the device and extending its head through the outstretched collar, which was necessary for a collaring event to occur. This slow acclimation period limited utility of the device when compared with traditional capture techniques. Future work should focus on device modifications and altered baiting strategies that decrease fawn acclimation period, and in turn, increase collaring rates, providing a noninvasive and perhaps cost-effective alternative for monitoring mid- to large-sized mammal species.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 717-725 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2019 |
Funding
We thank D. J. Freddy for providing us the opportunity to pursue this research. S. W. Breck and K. C. VerCauteren provided initial design insights and guidance. We thank the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University for their work to produce an initial prototype of the collaring device. J. Vigil was instrumental in coordinating workflow. Multiple wildlife professionals and technicians with Colorado Parks and Wildlife provided guidance and helped conduct field work. We thank D. B. Johnston and D. W. Tripp for reviewing an early draft of this manuscript and Associate Editor A. R. Rodgers and 3 anonymous reviewers for improving the manuscript during the review process. Funding was provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-185-R, and Mule Deer Foundation.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Colorado Parks and Wildlife | W-185-R |
Keywords
- Odocoileus hemionus
- automated
- baiting
- capture
- capture techniques
- collaring
- fawn
- handling
- mule deer
- noninvasive