I just got a bunch of pictures from Nate, so I will be going a bit backwards in time before getting to more recent events. I mentioned in an earlier post working up a black bear. Here are some pictures:
Mike Olson, the professional photographer who came out with us a couple of times, is taking pictures of a black bear den.
Caitlin taking measurements. Masks are used to cover the animals' eyes, which reduces stress.
Nate is adjusting a radio collar to put on the bear. I'm not sure why he looks angry, perhaps his face was cold.
Now on to deer! I've finally reached a point where I'm very comfortable and confident when working up a doe. I am able to draw up drugs (including antibiotic, immobilization drug, and reversal drug) easily. Like anything, it feels a bit overwhelming in the beginning trying to remember all the proper steps of a particular task, but once done several times, the procedure becomes ingrained in one's mind.
I have successfully drawn blood several times now! On my second attempt, I was able to get blood after the first needle injection into the deer's vein (along her front leg). There are two types of tubes that blood is collected into (three with red tops and two with purple tops). The second blood starts flowing into the tube, one must exclaim "red top time" to whoever is recording data. It was amazing watching blood flow into the tube and at the same time doing my best to stay focused and not move at all. As Caitlin explained to me when I first tried this, it is vital to have a steady hand with the ability to hold the needle in place while simultaneously pushing the tube onto the other side of the needle after it is injected into the vein. On my third attempt at taking blood, I was able to fill up all five tubes in one go!
Alec is inside a clover trap that we use to get deer. There is corn (bait) with fishing line arranged as a large cross. When a deer walks into the trap, his/her body presses against the fishing line setting off a trigger, which makes the "door" come down.
When a pregnant doe is caught, researchers hurry to prepare all the tools needed to carry out procedures. Initially, various tubes, such as those for blood and urine, must be taken out and labeled. Tools for tooth and urine extraction must also be out and ready. There are two ways a single doe is monitored via radio telemetry: one is with a radio collar, and the other is with a VIT tag. Both of the frequencies must be checked before being placed on, or in the case a VIT tag, inside the deer. This avoids putting a dysfunctional collar on a doe. If a collar or VIT tag doesn't have a signal, then we wouldn't be able to track the deer after handling them.
While the doe is still inside the trap, we wait for her to become induced and make preparations. I'm labeling some tubes in this picture. Alec is behind me recording data. The sleeping bag is used to keep the deer warm while we work on her.
I'm preparing a radio collar. Each collar has to be measured and adjusted for individual deer.
I'm putting in ear tags. They are given to every new deer we trap, this includes males and fawns. Ear tags allow us to identify deer we have re-captured in traps.
I'm removing a tooth using a tool called a dental extractor. One tooth (incisor I3) is taken from each pregnant doe we trap in order to determine age.
Josh is showing me how to properly read the caliper used to take teat measurements. Deer have four teats total. The width and length for one front teat and one back teat is recorded.
After all the measurements are taken and we've collected samples (this includes blood, urine, fecal, tooth, hair, and saliva), we record weight and inject the doe with a reversal drug (yohimbine). This drug reverses the sedative (xzyolzene), but there is no reversal drug for ketamine, which is responsible for inducing the deer. Deer are usually still a little "drunk" when waking up from the procedure. While we wait for a doe to get up, the clover traps are re-set and all the gear and tools used are carefully carried back to the truck. We don't take everything with us to each trap because that would be too time consuming. Since it takes a deer anywhere from five to thirty minutes (or possibly even longer) to "go to sleep", there is usually ample time to gather all materials and set everything up.
Alec with a doe we just finished working on. She is ready to take off!
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