yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Chasing Wolverines With Help From Ultra-Runners | National Geographic


3m read
·Nov 11, 2024

[Music] This place is right on the fringe of so many important carnivore species' habitat. In February of 2014, a camera trap here that the Department of Wildlife Resources had set up captured a wolverine on camera. That was the first time that had happened ever. They existed all the way out to the Great Lakes; they existed up in North Michigan and all around, but they're not here anymore and they haven't been here for quite some time. Fur trappers and hunting have really taken them out of existence here. Because DWR found this one wolverine on camera, the significance of that is that wolverines could potentially be expanding their range into the Uinta Mountain Range. We have 34 of these camera stations around the range with 30 volunteers like you guys; this effort just isn't possible any other way. [Music]

The opportunity was there to study this range, but the problem is that the Forest Service, the Department of Wildlife Resources, and so many other groups that would be interested in this just don't have the resources to do it. Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation are really excited about this partnership with the Forest Service because we can exponentially expand their capabilities of surveying this range without a lot of money. We recruited from the trail-running community specifically just because of the long distances to get in to 11,000 ft up high in the [Music] range.

It's more about being able to just access the cameras and the sites faster. It's about being able to do it with a greater level of confidence to be able to move efficiently. I know that I can come in here, making my way to a camera; I can do it not just quickly, but I can carry everything that I need. I can be self-reliant. It's super satisfying to be able to travel fast and light in the mountains; I like where it takes you, the views. I like the feeling of being where most people feel it's too difficult to get.

As we approach any given camera site, you get within about 100 yards; your heart begins to beat a little. "Can you smell it?" Here, can you smell it? That's more than the last few times. That's part of the excitement; we don't know what kind of disturbance there's going to be. Regardless of whether it's been tampered with, you still have the idea of, "Okay, well now let's check the camera; let's see what's on the card." What you got? Animals love it. A lot of the best footage has actually been at night, and you look at the pictures, you're like, "Wow! In hindsight, I had no idea we were going to see so many different animals!"

Bears—I didn't think that we'd get such cool footage of that. Done. If we don't find wolverines here, nothing really changes, but we need to continue to protect this habitat. It's essential that we understand how to protect their ecosystems to give them the best chance to be here. Being able to be here, being involved with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, and being a part of this research project kind of gives me an opportunity to enjoy the science, the opportunity to know that there are species out here that are elusive. That unknown is, to me, what makes it exciting. [Music]

More Articles

View All
Answering Google's Most Asked Questions of 2023
We can learn a lot about ourselves and the state of the world through our Google searches. What we ask the internet is not only a reflection of what we want to know, but also what we desire and fear. In 2023, people search for everything from deep questi…
Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012
Well, first thanks a lot for having me. Um, it’s really exciting for me to be here in front of like so many people that all want to build cool things. I was getting ready for the talk last night, and I was going back through old emails because sometimes …
Revolutionizing the Walking Cane: A Simple Design Gets a Hi-Tech Upgrade | Short Film Showcase
So all of us would have seen a person with vision impairment use the white cane to detect nearby obstacles on the ground. But this scan cannot detect anything from knee till head height, which frequently causes upper body or face injuries. So for a person…
40 Years Later, A Family Revisits Their Epic Canoe Trip | Short Film Showcase
[Music] As a kid, I loved listening to my parents tell stories about their adventures. One story in particular captured my imagination. In 1974, my parents and my uncle Andy built their own canoes and, against all advice, launched their boats into the Pac…
Sex on Wheels | Original Sin: Sex
[Music] Another 20th century triumph of technology was quickly co-opted for sex. Weighing in at a ton or more, it became one of the all-time biggest fetish objects. “Gee, this is a beautiful car, Chevrolet 1956. Nice! The car industry should be my part…
A Year in Space | MARS
Humanity has never undertaken anything like sending humans to another planet. So how do humans get ready to go to Mars, or how do they survive this mission? Now, last month we launched a new spacecraft as part of a re-energized space program that will se…