Watch a Helicopter Capture and Collar a Wyoming Black Wolf
If you've ever wondered how hard it might be to capture a wild wolf from a helicopter, wonder no more. A new video share shows a Wyoming black wolf getting captured and collared from the air.
Brushbuck Wildlife Tours shared this video description on YouTube to describe what the captured (in a video sense):
Scientists capture a wolf via helicopter on The National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole. They safely captured the wolf for radio collaring, number ID, and DNA samples. It was an incredible sight for our tour guests.
An incredible sight for sure. Here's their video of a black wolf capture. This occurred near the National Elk Refuge outside of Jackson.
Wyoming Game and Fish shared details of why some wolves are captured and collared and what they hope to learn:
Most of the captures are handled in the field away from people by a contracted professional wildlife capture crew. The crew will typically net-gun the animals, collect blood and other biological samples, fit it with a GPS collar and release it on-site. The battery life will allow the GPS collar to record the animals' travels for approximately 2-3 years.
They added that some of their biologists will put on skis or snowshoes over the following years to track the collared wolves and make sure they keep accurate counts on active wolves in and around Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
Wolves tend to be a hot topic in Wyoming both pro and con. Some believe they have restored balance to the wildlife eco system in Yellowstone while others think they're a menace. You can check out the official Wyoming Game and Fish website for their latest updates on wolves in our state.