Scientists turn to CCTV at Yellowstone Park

May 1, 2004 12:00 PM

Wildlife biologists at Yellowstone National Park have 2.2 million acres to monitor. Their assignments, which in the past have included “roughing it” by following the herds to study the habitat, now have become a lot easier and more rewarding with the installation of digital video technology from Canon U.S.A. Inc., Lake Success, N.Y., in various remote areas of the park.

Two Canon NU-700N Network Controllable pan/tilt/zoom systems have been deployed in highly remote areas deep inside the park to give scientists a first-hand look at the habitats and daily lives of bison, elk, wolves and grizzly bears.

The cameras run on solar and wind-generated power.

“There's a highly dynamic ecosystem here, and that's a context for an exciting application for the camera systems,” says Dr. Glenn Plumb, supervisory wildlife biologist for Yellowstone National Park. “It's integral to a framework for incorporating new technologies into wildlife science, with the potential for very low intrusion into the wilderness setting. This is allowing us to get information that was previously unavailable.”

Each camera is situated on an outpost miles from the nearest road and accessible only by horseback, hiking or skiing in winter. Rather than traveling to strategic locations in the park's Mary Mountain and Pelican Valley areas, and living in snow caves for several days during the harsh winters as is common with field work, Plumb and his researchers now capture and study the wildlife with microwave remote control of the cameras from the park headquarters.

“One of our first transmissions was in Pelican Valley, where a grizzly bear was feeding in the grass and you could see it twitch its head listening for small animals,” Plumb says. “The imagery, color, definition and zoom capacity gave us incredible views.”

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