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Hooves and Helicopters: Adventures in Pronghorn Collaring
WWF’s Kyran Kunkel (left), pictured with Dennis Jorgensen, Program Officer for WWF’s Northern Great Plains program.
© Diane-Hargreaves/Hargreavesphoto.com
On a clear northern Montana day, a joint team from WWF, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the University of Calgary began field work on a collaborative study of pronghorn ecology and conservation planning. The team met their goal of fitting 22 pronghorn females with GPS radio collars. The WWF team was led by Kyran Kunkel, senior fellow for the Northern Great Plains program.
Why study pronghorn?
Pronghorn require large areas of intact native prairie - seasonal movements of 300 miles have been documented, making pronghorn second only to caribou in North American migrations. Because of this behavior they are an ideal species to assess the ecological impact of human activities such as habitat fragmentation and oil and gas development. The data from this field work will lead to improved land and wildlife management on the Northern Great Plains.
WATCH video of pronghorn running. Video by Steve Hargreaves
Herd of pronghorn in motion. This fast-running antelope evolved its speed to escape a now-extinct North American cheetah. Now, it can easily outrun modern-day prairie predators.
© Diane Hargreaves/Hargreavesphoto.com
How do you catch a pronghorn?
The pronghorn is the fastest hoofed animal in North America, capable of achieving speeds up to 60 mph. Capturing and collaring these speedy antelopes involves three teams: a spotter team in a small aircraft, a helicopter crew and the staff at base camp. To begin, the plane would search for herds of pronghorn. Once spotted, they radioed the helicopter team to capture an animal using a net gun. Netting the animal is a less invasive capture method than tranquilizer darting. Once the animal was safely on the ground the helicopter crew would draw blood for DNA and other testing, collect a hair sample and check the animal's overall health. After applying the GPS radio collar the helicopter team released the animal and waited for further instructions from the aircraft team.
WATCH video of the pronghorn collaring. Video by Steve Hargreaves.
From left to right: Mike Suitor, University of Calgary; Kyran Kunkel, WWF and Kelvin Johnson, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks as they process blood samples from collared pronghorn.
© Diane Hargreaves/Hargreavesphoto.com
Gathering pronghorn data
Once all the animals were collared, the helicopter team brings back the blood and hair samples to base camp. That and other information such as the GPS locations of specific capture sites are noted, and the team reviews the day's operations.
After one year the collars fall off of the animals. It is then that WWF and partner scientists will download the GPS data from the collars. In the meantime the scientists can remotely capture near real-time GPS locations every four hours.
Map detail of northern Montana showing pronghorn capture and collaring locations
© WWF
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