December 24, 1998 Missoulian article: On the trail of the grizzly; Biologist studying whether grizzly bears are increasingly preying on Jackson Hole elk. By DAVID SIMPSON, Jackson Hole Guide
His response may not fit into the normal category, but then most people don't go looking for the sites where large predators kill their prey in the first place.
Smith, a biologist at the National Elk Refuge, and two other researchers this year studied elk calf mortality in Jackson Hole, trying to learn what causes the deaths of newborn calves.
After 50 elk calves were outfitted with radio-transmitter ear tags, Smith and his associates spent six weeks monitoring the frequency for signals that would indicate if one of the animals had died.
When they picked up a mortality signal, the goal was to get to the scene within 48 hours, which greatly increased the trio's ability to determine cause of death. This year, the second of a three-year study, 13 of the 50 elk calves that were fitted with radio transmitters were killed.
In many cases, the cause was the usual valley predators - black bears and mountain lions - or in some instances disease and other natural causes such as drowning.
But Smith suspects an increase of grizzly bears in the area are changing the numbers -a theory he is trying to prove or disprove in his study.
Smith relies on volunteers at the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab to decipher much of the evidence collected at the scene. Recently, he received results from the work he did several months ago during the study's second year.
Results are similar to data gathered last year: Two cases each year revealed that grizzly bears had killed elk calves in Jackson Hole.
That is significant, according to Smith, because in a similar three-year study, from 1990 to 1992, no elk calves were killed by grizzlies in the same area.
"It's indicating to me that something's changed," Smith said. "Either we have more grizzly bears or we have bears that are eating elk calves now."
Determining the cause of death of an elk calf requires strict protocol that might be aptly compared to the rules governing a crime scene.
First, there's the safety issue. When researchers hike or ride horses to the scene of a kill, the strength of the radio signal tells them when to begin yelling so they don't surprise a bear or mountain lion dining on the carcass or resting in nearby timber.
The group also stays in touch with Grand Teton National Park's radio dispatcher - just in case.
When they locate the kill site, researchers assess what the clues tell them.
In one case in late May, the group found the four intact legs of an elk calf, connected by the hide. Other than a few other scattered bones, along with the radio transmitter, nothing else remained.
But Smith and another researcher investigating the site, Kathy McFarland, found plenty of other information, including a bed where the animal that killed the elk calf bedded as well as clumps and single strands of wiry hair on nearby trees. The final clues were bear prints and scat containing elk bones found in the vicinity.
The type of kill also gives them information. In that case, Smith said the four legs still attached by the hide but otherwise picked clean is classic of the extremely meticulous way a bear kills and eats its prey.
Wolves and coyotes, however, are messy and scatter their prey all around, he said. McFarland said the fun part of the study is never knowing where you'll be going on a given day or what you'll find.
"It's kind of like detective work," McFarland says of piecing together the evidence and trying to determine what made the kill.
According to Smith, learning about what sort of predators kill elk calves provides a wealth of scientific information for wildlife managers at the park, the Elk Refuge, and Bridger-Teton National Forest.
For example, he said, some of the study's goals include finding out whether grizzly bear kills of elk calves are reducing the survival rate of elk or whether grizzlies simply are killing elk calves that would likely be killed by other predators if grizzlies were absent.
The study may also provide information on the time that grizzlies are attracted to elk calving areas near northern Jackson Hole, and whether that has implications for cattle grazing allotments on public land, Smith said.
Smith said he hopes to repeat the three year study again after wolves move into the area.