Best Summer Job: Dart-Gunning Deer for a Tennessee Research Project

What did you do this summer? Austin had the coolest job I know of, and he sent this report:

Mike: As part of a team of research assistants for the University of Tennessee, we were hired to shoot (using dart guns) 10 does and 10 bucks on a WMA in south-central Tennessee this summer. The guns were loaded with darts containing the appropriate drug mixtures to immobilize the whitetails, and GPS transmitters were inserted into the animals to track them once hit.

The dart guns we used have a maximum range of about 30 yards, so essentially it was bowhunting with a 3-9 scope and badass! 

Telemetry equipment was used to track the deer to their downed location. The animals were fitted with ear tags and GPS collars to track their movements. We monitored pulse oxygen rate, heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature, and took live weights and hair samples. The entire process for each deer averaged about an hour; we then administered a reversal drug to allow the deer to recover and leave the area under full control.
 
The research purpose is to track deer movement throughout the hunting seasons—specifically, to find out what types of cover the deer seek out, and to monitor how movement and pressure relate to vehicle strikes along highways in the area. GPS collars on each deer send off signals to a satellite, which are then sent to a computer to locate the animals’ exact coordinates. Collared deer can be hunted and shot at any point during the legal season; the results should be interesting to see where and to what extreme deer movement occurs from the result of hunting pressure.
 
BTW, the ages of the bucks we darted were 2½ years (five animals), 3½ (3) and 4½ (2). We saw one of the older bucks again later in the summer, and he is a solid P&Y 10-point, about 130”. –Thanks, Austin.

Great stuff, thanks Austin. comment