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Minnesota Zoo uses Mazda CX-5 to track wolves

The Mazda CX-5 field vehicle that Morrie’s Minnetonka Mazda donated to the Minnesota Zoo for moose and butterfly conservation projects has come in handy this winter!  Dr. Brian Kot, a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Minnesota Zoo, has used it to check up on the wolves he is tracking using GPS collars, for a study of wolf-moose interactions in northeastern Minnesota.  Brian is comparing how wolves and moose use their habitat, to understand where moose are at high and low risk of predation.  Minnesota has lost more than half of its moose population in the past ten years.  Wolves have also recently been returned to the US Endangered Species list with a “threatened” listing in Minnesota.

 

Check out Brian’s photos from recent excursions using the field vehicle!

Brian gathers equipment from the field research vehicle
Brian uses telemetry equipment to listen for radio tracking collars worn by wolves in the study area
A busy wildlife travel route along a frozen creek showing fox tracks (left), wolf tracks (middle) and, possibly, coyote tracks (right).

 

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