Vertebrate zoology students brave the cold, survey Selu animals

Selu_Peromyscus_leucopus

Students from Dr. Powers' vertebrate zoology course recently braved the cold weather to complete surveys of small animals at the Selu Conservancy. Setting over 300 mammal traps at Selu, the students caught 45 mammals from 7 species, including 4 rodent species, a raccoon, an oppossum, and a striped skunk. The students also caught one bird, a song sparrow, in a net designed to safely capture birds. Photos from this event celebrate the successes and the value of the Selu Conservancy - this property, just 5 miles from campus, gives students the opportunity to complete field biology surveys, learn practical field techniques, and build their skill sets as biology majors. 

House_mouse

Lauren McClaugherty, April Tingle, and Shanellie Estrella measure a captured house mouse

Raccoon

A healthy raccoon was captured and safely released.

Painter_Peromyscus

Jessica Painter holds a white-footed mouse

Hebert_McNeilly

Sarah Hebert and Kayla McNeilly carefully measure a captured mouse

Song_sparrow

A healthy adult song sparrow was captured and released in this trapping effort

Nov 16, 2015
Karen Powers
540.831.5146
biology@radford.edu