Here in the United States, wildlife management has long prioritized consumptive uses like hunting, trapping, and fishing. When animals are studied, it’s typically with this lens and they are often captured using hunting and trapping techniques. Researchers at agencies and universities use leghold traps to catch a wolf to put a collar on them, hounding mountain lions to tree them for closer inspection, or trekking miles into the wilderness to leave scent lures or bait.
But Robert Long and his team at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo are charting a different course. Leading the charge towards noninvasive research methods, Long, a senior conservation scientist, is transforming the study of carnivores like wolverines in the Cascade Mountains.
Noninvasive research fosters a more sustainable and ethical approach to understanding and conserving wildlife. These methods, such as camera trapping and synthetic scent lures, allow researchers to gather valuable data without disturbing the animals or their habitats. Synthetic scent lures have many advantages in wolverine research; they avoid the risk of habituating wildlife to food handouts and are durable enough to last in the wolverines’ rugged and remote habitat. And unlike bait stations, dispensers don’t have to be continually replenished.
Not only is Long advocating for inclusion of ethical considerations in wildlife research on the whole, he also argues these noninvasive approaches to ensure better conservation outcomes and more accurate understanding of animal behavior and ecology. By minimizing stress on wildlife, researchers can obtain more reliable data and promote sustainable interactions between humans and animals.
With a shift toward methods that minimize human impact, Long’s work not only sets a new standard for wildlife observation but is part of a growing trend of change in how researchers look at animals: as sentient beings who deserve our respect.
Read the full article: https://sentientmedia.org/noninvasive-wild-animal-research/
