Animal Tracking Devices?

[InsaneBoost]

Hopefully this is the right area, if not, please move it to the correct one.

I'm looking for a way to track animals in National Parks. Not for any illegal or criminal purposes, but to simply photograph them. I know it takes the fun out of the hunt in a sense, but I've recently started helping the NPS with photography, and am making a trip to Yellowstone later this year, and am hoping to find some wolves and other animals.

I've read that a VHF receiver is the way to track them? As it'll pick up the signal the collars give off? Does anyone know if this is true, or if this is even possible?

I'm a little bit lost as to what to do with this. Maybe they are on special frequencies or channels and you can't pick them up, but this could definitely make things a little easier for me while I have a limited time to find them.

Anyone have any ideas? Should I just talk to my contact with the NPS and see what they have to say?

Thanks!

[rlown]

You should call the park. I think to use the "real-time" tracking GPRS data, you have to be a working biologist/research type under contract with the park. There are apps that tell you where there are wildlife within Yellowstone NP. http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-expert ... ional-park as an example, but this is the touristy type of animal sightings stuff.

There is this guy as well: http://www.wolftracker.com/Packs/index.htm Browse his site for a bit. He's obviously more of a guide than a resource for grabbing a signal and walking towards an animal. Some places don't allow the "public" to do this as it violates Fish and Wildlife policies for animal harassment. Biologists are special in that regard, if doing research.

A google search like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=animal+ ... 2&ie=UTF-8

will show you some tracking solutions.

Call the park.

Russ

[rlown]

Found this link: http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/management/ycr.htm start there with your phone calls.

check out the Wildlife and Aquatic Resources page at: http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/managemen ... quatic.htm

Russ

[maverick]

I have deleted my two anwsers to this thread because you need to provide more details about this endeavour. You going solo to Yellowstone NP, to chase wolves on your own, for photography purposes, is a suicide mission, and I will not contribute to that.

[rlown]

He asked the right questions in a kind of roundabout way. Our answers were consistent, so we had that going for us! This isn't a smart idea to do this solo, and you have to coordinate with the NPS, as they will bust you on sight, confiscate your equipment and probably list you as a persona non grata. There are good reasons for not giving out the tracking frequencies. If they did, every hunter would be sitting just outside the park with such a device to shoot the animals that border the park (a very bad thing to do or allow)

Do the right thing. Go through the proper channels, and when they say "No", get an authorized NPS guide to lead your trip. It's only Money.

Russ

[InsaneBoost]

Definitely wasn't planning to go running off into the woods after Grizzlies, Wolves, etc, haha. I guess I might have came off that way. Last year I spent several hours in the valley from 3-8am hoping to spot wolves, never happened. Which is why I was hoping I could sit there with a receiver and pickup knowing they are at least somewhere in the general area, and shoot from the car.

Clearly I didn't even think about the hunters and what not, so that probably makes a whole lot of sense.

I'll talk to my NPS contact and see exactly what they have to say. As mentioned by you all, I probably will be out of luck not being a biologist, granted I am under contract as a photographer, but I guess asking can never hurt.

[rlown]

Ask to be paired up with one!!! One of those links was the head biologist.

[InsaneBoost]

The one that charges $575 for 1-2 people? Unless I'm missing it. Not thanks. I'll sit in the valley all morning like I did last year LOL. Otherwise I didn't see the one with the head biologist.

Plus looks like that one site isn't really active anymore? Last update in 2013.