(Inside Science) — The first time Paul Krausman jumped out of a helicopter and wrestled a deer to the ground was in 1978. Another researcher had shot a net over the deer moments before, but the animal was not sedated, and it fought hard until Krausman managed to blindfold it and fasten a radio collar around its neck. Krausman has now made that leap well over 100 times, collaring species such as mule deer, bighorn sheep and pronghorns. There is no time to hesitate, even if the helicopter is hovering 15 feet over jagged rocks.
“You’re sitting there and the helicopter pilot’s telling you, ‘You’ve got to jump now, you’ve got to jump now, you’ve got to jump now!'” said Krausman. “There have been times when I’ve jumped out of the helicopter, and I’ve thought, ‘What in the hell am I doing?'”
Krausman is a wildlife biologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson and editor of the Journal of Wildlife Management. He has seen decades’ worth of progress in efforts to track and monitor animals by attaching instruments to their bodies, a field known as wildlife telemetry. He credits radio collars and other animal-mounted instruments with revolutionizing wildlife management, giving researchers the data they need to protect animals and their habitats. But that information isn’t easy to gather. While the instruments themselves have grown ever more high-tech, the reality of attaching them to animals in the field is gritty and unpredictable. Every animal presents its own challenges, whether it be tiny and fragile, huge and aggressive, or just squirmy and awkwardly shaped.
And while there’s no question that telemetry research can aid conservation, it can also inflict injuries and other costs on the animals that carry the instruments. That’s why many researchers go to extreme lengths to gather data while minimizing the risks to animals — even if that means putting their own safety on the line.
