Early Friday morning I met up with UDWR Wildlife Biologist Jason Nicholes out of the Cedar City office. Jason has worked for the department for nearly 26 years and has moved into the Assistant Wildlife Manager role for the Southern Region and oversees four other districts. Our goal for the day was to capture yearling bucks and attach GPS collars to complete a study related to the survivability of young male mule deer. Jason explained we would also capture a few mature female mule deer and place GPS collars on them as well. We were accompanied by three other game biologists and a professor with BYU. The helicopter capture service was provided by Heliwild, a company that specializes in this type of work. As we set up at the first location, I was briefed on what the process looked like and what the team needed me to do. The helicopter took off and netted the first few deer within minutes. The helicopter crew used a net gun to capture the deer. Once they were netted, a few members jumped out to apply a blind fold and hobble the legs of the deer so they didn't hurt themselves. They were then harnessed and secured to the aircraft and brought to the staging area.
Once the deer were carefully lowered to the ground and the aircraft was cleared, we would hustle over with a litter and roll the deer onto it. Before we made it to the workup table the deer was weighed by attaching chains to the eyelets on the litter. We then transported them a short distance to the workup table. Here is where it got interesting for me. Blood was drawn from the leg or the neck and used for disease identification and other health related analyses. On the rump and the loin of the deer a small bit of hair was removed exposing bare skin. The professor from BYU utilized an ultrasound system to view the loin muscle and rump fat thickness. These measurements helped the biologist determine the health and growth of the deer.
Measurements were then taken dorsally from the nose to the tail joint and around the circumference of the chest. The radio collar was placed with extreme care to allow for lots of growth. The collars were equipped with elastic bands for the growth factor, but the biologist also mounted the collar as loose as possible to ensure the safety of the animals. The deer's temperature was monitored by the helicopter crew and by the biologist. They monitored the temp closely due to the deer's propensity to overheat. The deer were under a lot of stress and ran from the helicopter at full speed, sometimes in excess of five minutes. So, the temps were monitored closely, if they received a temp that was too high, the biologists would wrap a towel soaked in ice water around the deer's underside. The biologist would do their final checks and make sure the deer didn't receive injuries during the process. Immunizations were given and all the data was recorded and stored. The deer were then transported to the release area where the hobbles and blindfolds were removed, and the deer was released.
It was an honor to be included in this deer capture where valuable data was and will be collected. I am impressed by the hard work and passion of the UDWR to acquire answers through data acquisition. This allows for proper management of wildlife and habitat. I am proud to call Southern Utah my home and look forward to doing more with these biologists in the area. A special thanks to Jason Nicholes!
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