Exploring Large Carnivores: A Wildlife Biologist's Perspective

Large carnivores play a significant role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems around the world. These apex predators not only regulate the populations of prey species but also have a cascading effect through their entire ecosystem that as scientists we are really only beginning to understand. As a wildlife biologist specializing in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation Sciences, my work revolves around researching and understanding these predator-prey relationships as well as their influence in their ecosystem. More precisely, I am interested in studying and understanding the Eco-Ethology of apex predators which can be defined as the study of the relationships between predator behavior and their influence in their ecosystems.

Through my academic journey at Oregon State University, I have been trained about the biology, ecology, ethology, and conservation status of various large carnivore species. Studying large carnivores in their natural habitats is a thrilling yet challenging endeavor, however. It requires discipline, patience, dedication, and a deep respect for the animals being observed. Above all, it demands navigating the various human dimensions that stem from living in what many scientists refer to by now as the Anthropocene. Therefore, sociological, economic and political sciences are also incorporated into our studies since, as wildlife professionals, we must always weigh social considerations when formulating conservation and management strategies and policies.

The capstone courses I have taken always emphasize critical thinking in natural resource science and management, as well as scientific communication. That is why, in addition to field research, I am also interested in being involved in raising awareness about the importance of large carnivores in wild systems. And that is how this website has been born.

Photo I took in 2019 while performing breeding observations for the USFWS at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico

My wildlife biology journey began long before I even embarked on my academic path to become a wildlife biologist. After spending a year and a half living and working in the Grand Teton National Park, in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem among wolves and grizzlies, the ecology bug had bit me. I explain this a bit further in "About me" section of the Home page. Against my better judgement, however, I had to leave this paradise and followed my father to Florida. Two things had become clear to me though: 1) I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to study large carnivores, and 2) I needed to obtain a university degree to even begin applying for jobs to do. So, I spent some time in the Florida Keys in some roles in management for a Hotel and Restaurant Management firm and later ran the Food and Beverage Department of a brand new luxury boutique hotel in Key West. But by then, I already knew I had one foot out the door in the hospitality industry and was becoming serious about the conservation of wolves and other apex predators in the U.S. There was not a day that passed where I wasn't thinking of the wolves I had tracked in the Tetons that put me on this journey.

I finally decided to quit my career in hospitality management after almost 25 years to free up time, took a job as a server, enrolled in the Wildlife and Forestry Conservation Certificate wildlife management certification course at Penn Foster school online, and actively began volunteering for several wildlife organizations to volunteer for.

My first gig was a wolf sanctuary in Naples (FL) where I took on a caretaker role helping species like wolves, pumas, coyotes, and Arctic foxes (yes, human vanity knows no limits and people actually owned and then surrender these species in hot, humid Florida). I loved this experience but at that time, I needed to find something that would help jumpstart my career in biology faster. Besides, as important work as these refuges provide for displaced wildlife, I simply could not bare witnessing these wild animals being relegated to life in captivity. Therefore, I resigned the refuge after a couple of months to join the National Park Service at the Shark Valley Station in the Everglades as a volunteer park ranger for the Interpretive Department. There, my roles were more varied such as manning the visitor booth and help visitors with general information about the park, such as places to see and information about the native fauna and flora of the Everglades, and sometimes help out buyers at the small gift shop at the Visitor Center. But what really attracted me to this position was the possibility of creating and leading my own interpretive programs for the Nature Talks and Bird Walks where I would lead visitors on hikes around the park and show them the various bird, mammal and reptile species that inhabit these wetlands. Because of my interest in the quintessential keystone species I always found ways to insert stories about the American alligator and the elusive Florida panther.

With my favorite wolf at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary. Chatima was a absolutely delightful wolf who loved when I carried mandarins in my pockets and would imprint me like crazy when so. There is a great chance that I ate some this day and smelled of them.

I did this for the whole season, working 5 days at a local seafood and steakhouse in Naples and driving about 2 hours each way on Tuesdays and Wednesday (my only 2 days off) every week, from Naples to Shark Valley VC which was close to Miami. By now, my course was set and though not spending enough time with my patient and supportive wife and my 2 adored young boys was a great sacrifice, I was determined to stay on the path that I had chosen.

At some point into the season, I also joined the USFWS at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge where lead biologist for the Service Jess Sutt took me on and allowed me to create a program that would be similar to what I was already doing at the Everglades NP in the trails of the Refuge and, through the use of tangible and intangible concepts, talk about the Florida panther and its crucial role in this magnificent ecosystem with visitors in hikes. However, this was a short-lived endeavor. By the time I had the program ready to go and had led one or two hikes, I ended up moving back to the West, to the Land of Enchantment in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But at least by now, I had found my ultimate destination, the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences program at Oregon State University and had finished my online certificate at Penn Foster, in record time I might add.

Shortly after arriving in Santa Fe, I enrolled in the Santa Fe Community College to obtain enough credits to be admitted in the Fisheries and Wildlife Department at Oregon State University. While at SFCC I took an introduction course to ecology where I met Janie Chodosh, an ecologist and writer who aside from an excellent instructor, became a friend and introduced me to Dave Parsons, the USFWS lead biologist who put the reintroduction plan for the Mexican gray wolf together and I was able to have a couple of interviews with him where he shared with me the biological and political challenges of the project that brought Mexican wolves back to the Southwest in 1998.

Health check of a captured Mexican wolf prior to relocation to a different captive breeding facility in New Mexico (from Ladder Ranch to Sevilleta NWR) in 2018

Fast forwarding a year or so, I was able to introduce myself to Dr. Christine Wiese, the lead biologist at the Ladder Ranch in Caballo NM for the Turner Endangered Species Fund. The Fund is under the direction of Mike Phillips, who was also involved in the reintroduction of the wolves in Yellowstone back in 1996 and I could not wait to meet him!. I met her through volunteering in wolf captures and relocations from the Ladder Ranch to the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge which then led me to volunteer for the Mexican Wolf Recovery Project through the USFWS under Melissa Kreutzian.

Loading crates containing Mexican wolves ready for transport to a different wolf facility in New Mexico

Gorgeous juvenile Mexican wolf awaiting transport to new wolf facility

Taking a selfie while waiting to load them for transport. I would later that day be fortunate enough to release into their new home

At the gates of the Sevilleta NWR

"...now we get to carry empty crates full of pee" (Melissa Kreutzian) - She sure knew how to make you laugh!

Eventually, Dr. Wiese offered me a job as a seasonal biological technician at the Ladder Ranch to work on her main project, the Bolson Tortoise recovery effort. She also would use me for anything wolf related, since the Ranch is one of the captive breeding facilities used by the Service in the Mexican Wolf Recovery Project, and this included helping maintain and feed the wolves, intake newly captured individuals, ocassionally sort through and help organize data capture throuh camera traps, and help in the health checks. But this was just a bonus, and purely out of her innate and gracioius generosity, since I had been hired to assist in the the Bolson tortoises program. In general terms, I tended to the newly-borns kept in the shed under constant temperature and light program that allowed the young ones to bypass hibernation and hence double their growing rates. I would have to drive through the desert habitat in the ranch foraging preferred native flowers and plants for their feeding. I would also feed the teens in the fenced pen, where I also helped take care of the native plants and grass the teens fed on as well as extracting any invasive species that would outcompete native vegetation meant for feeding the tortoises. I also was responsible for tracking the adults, who free-roamed the larger pen using telemetry and do health check weekly as well as mapping their GPS coordinates into a grid.

One day, while I was already working at the Ladder Ranch, Dr. Wiese came to me and offered to join them in one of those expeditions to wolf territory to implant pups into a wild den in the Arizona as part of the cross-fostering program that the interagency team that manages the wolves performs where captive-bred pups are introduced into wild dens and adopted by wild packs, a very innovative method that has seen incredible success. Unfortunately, this never came to pass, since not enough captive-bred pups in that litter survived to be able to take into the wild, so my dream of crawling into a wild wolf den never materialized, but I will always be grateful to Dr. Wiese and Melissa for even just considered me.

This was an unforgettable experience and I couldn't believe that I was being paid for actual biology work on my Junior year! In addition, again, through Dr. Wiese's generosity, I got to meet and have lunch with a legend in conservation and the wolf world, Mike Phillips! She also took me to have pick the brains of renown Harley G. Shaw, puma biologist who also shared advice from decades of researching carnivores in the U.S.

But the real gift was that I got to work with and learn from Dr. Wiese and her husband Scott Hillard, her partner in the conservation of the Bolson Tortoise. They are both brilliant biologists who taught me the real aspects of everything I was studying at the university the and provided me with real life opportunities to apply that knowledge in the field. Not only that, I learned crucially valuable skills such as telemetry and radio tracking, basic trapping to keep gophers at bay from the tortoise enclosures (something that I was apprehensive about but unfortunately needed), and even digging posts to make new tortoise enclosures. In addition to great scientists, they are even better people from whom I learned a lot. I can't begin to say how many great conversations I enjoyed with them both while on the field and after work. More so, I will always remember all the incredibly valuable advice and mentoring I received sitting next the fire, while enjoying those magnificent sunsets typical of the Land of Enchantment at the ranch, or by the grill while cooking elk hamburgers with the rest of the cowboys from the Ladder Ranch. I don't think I will ever stop being grateful to Dr. Wiese and Scott for the trust they placed on this budding, underserving student of wildlife sciences. She saw something (to this day I'm not sure what that might have been) that made her believe I could do this, and without that, I don't know if I would have been able to see through to continue this far now.

Performing wolf breeding observations for the USFWS in 2019 from the observation hut

Here I am holding one of the adult Bolson tortoises I was tasked with tracking and counting weekly.

Tracking adult Bolson tortoises fitted with radio transmitters.

In summary, through this platform, I hope to share my passion for large carnivores and highlight the importance of conserving these magnificent animals for future generations. Join me on this journey as I delve into the world of apex predators and explore the wonders of our natural heritage. Stay tuned for more updates and blog posts, and thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts and conclusions on the world of carnivore conservation and Ecoethology.