August 20, 2010

Progress on the Pup Poop

Good news so far regarding the pup poop.  The geneticists HAVE been able to extract DNA from the pup scats.  This approach to obtaining DNA is always a challenge.  So far the geneticists have been able to determine that they have DNA from 4 of the 5 pups.  The workers will now analyze a second batch of scats in hopes that they can identify the 5th pup.

2 comments:

  1. Good to hear some progress!

    I have a question I hope you can answer for me.

    Apparently there is a management proposal going on in Idaho which involves removing/killing all or most members of "chronic depredation" wolf pack and then sterilizing the pack leaders to defend their territory against other wolves,personal feelings about this aside,won't the pair be at a disadvantage to protect their territory without a pack? I mean if a pack of 5 wolves comes and challenges the pair for territory would they even stand a chance?

    It's just been bugging me and I was hoping to get some good insight about this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A mere pair of wolves could be at a disadvantage, but several sterile pairs
    are known to have held territories for years. It would be more of a problem
    when prey are very scarce.

    Dave

    ReplyDelete