We were able to capture and outfit the female (on right) with a new transmitter so we are now tracking the whole osprey family group for our Osprey Migration study in partnership with Grand Teton National Park. The transmitters will help us study migration and family group dynamics. Stay tuned for more pictures and maps of this years migrations!

Each spring osprey return to the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) area and can be seen fishing on local lakes and rivers. In partnership with Grand Teton National park Craighead Beringia South is tracking local osprey as part of a national effort to study and understand migrations of animals that spend only part of the year in GTNP.  

This fall we tracked four osprey from the Jackson Hole area to their wintering grounds in Cuba, Louisiana and Mexico. Stay tuned for updates on their return this spring.

For more osprey videos check out ARKive's website. 

The last few weeks Craighead Beringia South in cooperation with Grand Teton National Park and Wyoming Game & Fish Department has been monitoring lek sites for the arrival of male sage grouse. This week we found 17 male sage grouse starting to gather at the lek north of the airport!

Grand Teton National Park offers the opportunity to view a sage grouse lek during their spring strut. It requires an early morning, meeting a ranger at 5:30 am, but is worth it to view the male's spectacular display for the females. Click here for more info.

Since 2007 Craighead Beringia South has studied the sage grouse of Jackson Hole and the surrounding regions. With extensive field work complete we are continuing with several aspects of the project including two graduate student and community involvement projects. We aim to continue to understand and monitor sage-grouse demographics and habitat use.

To continue to monitor the health and size of the local population we hold an annual winter sage grouse census and help with lek monitoring each spring. For the spring of 2012 we will continue to monitor the local leks weekly in partnership with Grand Teton National Park and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department.

Last week we educated students through a new program - the "Cougar Posse" in partnership with The Cougar Fund and Florida Gulf Coast University. The first field trip of this program taught Kelly Elementary School fourth and fifth grad students about mountain lions.

The Cougar Posse is a program that teaches fourth grade students about cougars, the Florida panther and water conservation. The program incorporates a multi-disciplinary approach enhancing students' skills in reading, writing, geography, math, art, and research skills. Students revolve through five different stations where volunteers and scientists teach them about kittens, research, radio collars, infrared cameras, cougar tracks, natural history and water conservation. These experiences build confidence and help all participants to understand our natural world.

The program is a partnership between:

Craighead Beringia South - Putting science to work for wildlife Craighead Beringia South is a wildlife research and education institute located in Kelly, Wyoming.

The Cougar Fund - Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming The Cougar Fund is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit advocacy organization working to protect the cougar throughout the Americas.

Florida Gulf Coast University - The Florida Panther Posse is an environmental education program run through the “Wings of Hope” program at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).

Read more about the Cougar Posse in this Jackson Hole News&Guide article about the program.

Craighead Beringia South is thankful to be among the 18 and have support for our Integrated Wildlife Research Education program. The funds granted will go towards the purchase of trail cameras, hardware and download data software that will be used for the Teton Cougar Project. Students will be involved in setting trail cameras to document travel routes for cougars and to contribute to agency estimations for current cougar populations.

Click here for more on the Youth Philanthropy Grant Program.

Click here for more on our Integrated Wildlife Research Education Program. 

Enjoy!

Link to Manuscript.

Here is a life-history study of the Andean condor in modern terms.  The investigation employs contemporary techniques in the analyses of behavior and ecology.  Specific objectives are:  to describe simple behavior patterns and postures and determine their functions; to describe the formation and maintenance of pair bonds and the organization of reproductive activities among parents and young; to isolate characteristic social relations among condors of different sex-and-age classes, migratory status, and populations and to isolate basic principles of social structure; to describe interspecific relations, relating variation for different species and localities to ecological factors; to describe feeding behavior of condors and other avian scavengers and determine food relations among competing species; to gain an understanding of how condors fly; to describe mortality factors; and, finally, to survey how condors have influenced various South American cultures.

Click here for a link to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department Mountain Lion Management Plan referenced in the letter.

In addition to this letter here are links to the Jackson Hole News & Guide articles following the story. 

• Mountain lions spotted near Cache Creek trails JH News&Guide January 23, 2012
• Lion kittens evasive on day 3 of trapping JH News&Guide January 25, 2012

* Update: Friday, February 3rd the mother mountain lion and what turned out to be 3 kittens were released in an undisclosed location between Lander and Rawlins according to an article in the Billings Gazette. 

The 2012 Sage Grouse Winter Census has been scheduled for Saturday, February 18th 9am - noon. Craighead Beringia South conducts an annual sage grouse count in Jackson to census the health and size of our local sage grouse population. Volunteers are needed to cross-country ski and snowshoe across the southern half of the valley. 

If interested in volunteering, please send an email to beringia@beringiasouth.org with the following information:

   - Names of people in your party

   - Skiing or snowshoeing?

   - What level of activity you are comfortable with (low = .5-1      mile, medium = 1-2 miles, high = > 2miles)

Sage Grouse populations in our valley and nationwide have been declining for some time and there is a need to census these populations accurately. In order to accomplish this, Craighead Beringia South biologists have devised a new census technique that has proven very effective in the past few years. With the help of people like you, we have skied and snowshoed all of the areas in which sage grouse reside during the winter and counted all of the grouse seen. And its that time again!

Groups and individuals are encouraged to participate.

For more information or questions call 307.734.0581 or email beringia@beringiasouth.org

The film is now available for purchase from National Geographic To order click here or call 800.627.5162. 

Learn more about cougars 12:30 pm Wednesday, January 11th at the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center.  Marilyn Cuthill Teton Cougar Project coordinator will be giving a special hour long presentation to share information about cougars and the Teton Cougar Project. Please join us! Thanks to the National Elk Refuge for hosting. For more information please click here. 

The article covers Craighead Beringia South's research of lead levels in eagles and other scavenger birds along with the hunter education voluntary non-lead ammo program. Lead ammunition used for big game hunting is left in gut piles and has been linked to elevated blood lead levels in bald eagles and other scavenger birds.

With the support of the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, the National Elk Refuge, Cabela's and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation Craighead Beringia South completed a third season of distributing non-lead ammunition to area hunters. The voluntary use of non-lead ammunition allows hunters a unique opportunity to maintain support for hunting programs by demonstrating a commitment to safe, quality hunting practices that will benefit the long-term conservation of wildlife. 

Brand new plates, mugs, bowls, platters, cookie jars and more are available in bear, moose, wolf and cowboy designs. For pictures of available pottery click here. To place an order call 307.734.0581. Orders can be picked up in Kelly or delivered in Jackson. 

For the past year filmmaker Jeff Hogan spent time in the field with the Teton Cougar Project to capture rare footage of these secretive animals. The resulting hour long film, American Cougar, will kick off Big Cat Week this Sunday on the Nat Geo Wild channel.

We invite you to join us at one of three special screenings of the film this Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, Dec. 10th 4 pm there will be a special program for kids and families at the Craig Thomas Visitor Center in Moose. Come at 3 pm to meet the researchers and filmmakers. FREE

Sunday, Dec. 11th 5 pm and 7pm at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Following each screening there will be a Q&A session with hands-on exhibits in the lobby beginning at 4:30 and 6:30. FREE

The Teton Cougar Project is an on-going research project that studies cougar ecology to improve management and conservation practices. Project partners Craighead Beringia South and Panthera track cougar movements for predation study, habitat use, home range analysis and population estimates.

For more information check out education page, Lead in Wildlife study page, and photos from Summit High School's day in the field.

With only an estimated 30-40 Gobi Bears remaining Demboski was unable to capture a photo of the beautiful animal. Thankfully we were able to provide an image to share with the magazine readers from our on going Gobi Bear study. As part of our work on the Mongolian Gobi Bear study an educational workbook is in its final stages of review and distribution. The workbook aims to educate to guide Mongolian students and teachers through a series of ecological activities contributing to their understanding of wildlife conservation.

The Wildlife Center is urging hunters to take steps to curb lead poisoning of Virginia wildlife. Lead ammunition used for hunting can easily find its way into the diet of eagles and other scavenger birds. Learn more about lead, hunting and wildlife in Virginia in this recent post by The Wildlife Center of Virginia. Their work is also highlighted in this news video.

This report of lead poisoning of eagles in Virginia shows that findings from our lead in wildlife study in Northwest Wyoming is not isolated. At a national level hunters switching from lead ammunition to lead alternatives like copper ammunition will help wildlife in Wyoming and Virginia alike. 

Learn more about how biologists study cougars in the upcoming National Geographic WILD film American Cougar. The film follows Craighead Beringia South and Panthera biologist's and their work on the Teton Cougar Project. The film is scheduled to premiere December 11, 2011. 

Chase Community Giving was introduced in 2009 as a new way forward for giving. This unique program lets fans of Chase Community Giving vote to help determine where Chase donates millions of dollars. In total, millions of people have helped donate over $15 million to 400 winning charities in 39 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. 

Help Craighead Beringia South be part of this group and VOTE for us today!

The Laramie Boomerang took a look at the recent rise in wind farm development and how their location can impact wildlife in the article Scientists: Wildlife Benefit from Careful Wind Farm Placement. Wind turbine blades are 420 feet long, move at 180 miles an hour and therefore can be tough on birds. Estimates for one proposed wind farm development predicts that it would kill 6,000 bats and 5,400 birds a year. With 140 site testing and monitoring applications submitted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) placement of these wind farms will be important for the survival of birds, bats and raptors in the area.