In wildlife conservation and research there are a number of tools and techniques that are widely used. This section aims to provide an introduction to some of these.
Radio Tracking or Radio Telemetry is a tool used to research wild animal species in the field in order to gain a thorough understanding of that population and its dynamics as well as to identify any potential threats to its survival. This information can then be used to formulate management plans for the long-term conservation of that species. Click here to learn more about Radio Telemetry.
As part of research projects, researchers often need to capture an animal so they can either fit it with a tracking device, take blood samples and other measurements, or simply relocate the animal. Box traps are a useful tool in animal captures. Click here to learn more about the use of box traps.
In wildlife conservation and research it is often necessary to tranquilise an animal for various reasons. Typical reasons include the requirement to fit a radio tracking collar, to take blood samples and other measurements or to relocate the animal to a different area. With wild animals it is obviously not usually practical (or safe) to walk up to the animal carrying a hypodermic syringe to inject it, so a different approach has to be taken. The vet or researcher needs to be able to inject the animal from a safe distance. To do this, the syringe is replaced with a tranquiliser dart which is fired either from a specialised dart gun or from a blowpipe. Click here to learn more about darting of wild animals.
As part of research projects, researchers often need to have an estimate for the number of animals of various species in an area. When studying carnivores for instance they need to know both the populations of the carnivores being studied, but also the populations of the various prey species in the area. There are various techniques available to estimate population figures. Click here to learn more about population studies.
When animals are tranquilised for any reason it is common for blood samples to be taken for analysis. These blood samples give information on the health of the animal and much more. Click here to learn about the use of blood samples in conservation.
Camera Traps
Camera Traps are cameras linked to an infra-red beam so that animals walking
in front of the camera trigger it to take a photograph. This lets
researchers obtain photographs of animals that are hard to get close enough to
observe normally. Click here to learn about the
use of camera traps.
© Predator Conservation Trust.
