PROJECT TYPE: Recreation, wildlife health
PARTNERS: Colorado State University (CSU)
VISION: Understand the impacts of recreation – biking, four-wheeling, and hiking – on the ecology of prenatal health in bighorn as lambs are the currency and metrics of success for future generations
MOTTO: Peace makes for better babies
RECREATE MINDFULLY
'Mothers-to-Be' of all species must eat nutritiously, provide a safe internal environment for their growing babies, and find ways to avoid the stressors of modern society - whether animal or human. Why? - because better nourished babies in utero and out survive better.
The desert bighorns of Utah are of particular interest here because -- much like with spring break in Florida where thousands of students come to party for spring holidays - more than 100,000 recreationists and bicyclists flee the cold wintry realms and flock to the canyons of southern Utah. It is also here that bighorn mothers are in their last trimester of pregnancy and where growing (in-utero) babies need the best nutrition, which is provided by nutritious spring grasses. It is also here that expectant mothers are disturbed by bicyclists, four-wheel recreationists, and others. This existing work by WCS Senior Scientist, Dr. Joel Berger - in conjunction with state and federal authorities - is designed to decipher how this all unfolds and, in turn, to help plan for future bighorns.
IN THE NEWS
In the WCS Newsroom: Good News From the Navajo Nation - Scientists Succeed in Tagging Nearly 100 of their Most Iconic of Wild Animals – the Tsétah dibé
Read it HERE.
Denver Zoo produced video: Helping the Herd. Watch HERE.
In Colorado Politics: CSU, Denver Zoo scientists assist with Navajo Nation bighorn sheep study. Read it HERE.
In Phys Org: Scientists working with Navajo Nation tag nearly 100 bighorn sheep to diagnose disease, track movements. Read it HERE.
Instagram Highlight HERE.