We are photographing plenty of dholes and bears (most likely due to the hot season, abundant water in my focal area, and perhaps our baiting attempts…baiting is certainly drawing the bears which we had never previously photo trapped). We continue to bait traps even though they are not set.
Unfortunately, we lost a trap last night to elephants. The metal structure was completely crushed and the trap cannot be salvaged. I have been busy locating veterinary supplies and had some delays with confusion over which drugs the vet already had and which ones he needed. I am working with a vet from a breeding center in the province (he speaks little English, so that may be a challenge). We finally set a date to set our traps and attempt captures: March 2nd!
During the middle of March I will attend (and present my dhole research) at the Fulbright Regional Enrichment Conference for American Fulbright Scholars in Southeast Asia, held in Malaysia. But, I hope to work on trapping at every opportunity, so stay tuned…
Clouded Leopard Summit
In January, I spent an intensive week at the Smithsonian’s Conservation and Research Center. Dr. Peter Leimgruber and I completed a manuscript using camera trap data from Khao Yai National Park and it is now being edited by all authors. We plan to submit the paper by the end of February. We also made progress with models predicting carnivore distribution in the park. I will continue to tweak these in the upcoming months.
I submitted grant proposals for a Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellowship and Association for Women in Science grant. My dissertation proposal was officially signed by my committee.
I am now back in Thailand and attended a Clouded Leopard and Small Felid Summit last week. It was great to get all SE Asia felid researchers in one room to update distribution maps for species. In working groups by country we outlined threats and identified actions that members of the group thought would have a conservation impact and that we could actually implement. We identified the need to share data between study sites in Thailand and I was charged with organizing that from the complex where I am working. I also made some good networking contacts which led to a couple of ideas to implement for trapping dholes.
Next month I will be back at my field site to check out what our camera traps captured while I was away. I will purchase supplies and work with our vet’s schedule to determine when we can open our traps. I received and tested two GPS/GSM collars last month. My dog, Zeus, was happy to run around as my guinea pig and recorded very accurate locations (not under forest cover though…out on a frozen lake in Wisconsin). Anyway, I am looking forward to finally getting trapping started.
I submitted grant proposals for a Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellowship and Association for Women in Science grant. My dissertation proposal was officially signed by my committee.
I am now back in Thailand and attended a Clouded Leopard and Small Felid Summit last week. It was great to get all SE Asia felid researchers in one room to update distribution maps for species. In working groups by country we outlined threats and identified actions that members of the group thought would have a conservation impact and that we could actually implement. We identified the need to share data between study sites in Thailand and I was charged with organizing that from the complex where I am working. I also made some good networking contacts which led to a couple of ideas to implement for trapping dholes.
Next month I will be back at my field site to check out what our camera traps captured while I was away. I will purchase supplies and work with our vet’s schedule to determine when we can open our traps. I received and tested two GPS/GSM collars last month. My dog, Zeus, was happy to run around as my guinea pig and recorded very accurate locations (not under forest cover though…out on a frozen lake in Wisconsin). Anyway, I am looking forward to finally getting trapping started.
Just Work
After a two week delay I made it back to the U.S. and home in Wisconsin on the 16th of December. During my wait in Bangkok I finished up a new draft of my dissertation proposal, wrote a proposal for a Smithsonian Fellowship (due in January), and updated my personal website.
I continue to work on two manuscripts using camera trap data from Khao Yai National Park. From January 12-19, I plan to spend a week at the Smithsonian’s Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia to put the final touches on the first manuscript.
Sometime between January 13th and the 18th I would like to arrange for a full committee meeting at UMass; however, the travel arrangements and dates are pending.
I will return to Thailand on January 22nd in time to attend a Clouded Leopard Workshop (sponsored by the Smithsonian). My fieldwork schedule for the year is contingent upon funding.
I continue to work on two manuscripts using camera trap data from Khao Yai National Park. From January 12-19, I plan to spend a week at the Smithsonian’s Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia to put the final touches on the first manuscript.
Sometime between January 13th and the 18th I would like to arrange for a full committee meeting at UMass; however, the travel arrangements and dates are pending.
I will return to Thailand on January 22nd in time to attend a Clouded Leopard Workshop (sponsored by the Smithsonian). My fieldwork schedule for the year is contingent upon funding.