I've started to do telemetry (radio-tracking), which is more or less the same as what I did in Taiwan. We go to areas where we know a collared coyote is known to roam and we scan the area with a directional antennae called a Yagi. We decide the direction from which the signal is strongest and record the bearing. Then we repeat this from several locations until we can make a triangle (triangulation) or at least an intersection (biangulation) between our bearings.
The hard part I find is observing the coyotes. I seem to be bad at spotting them from the distance and using a scope to find them. I have enough trouble doing this, but then I have to be writing down everything it does: RLU = raised leg urination; UP = unsuccessful predation; etc. We haven't even done multiple coyotes yet!
I am a little behind the other two interns, so I have a lot of catching up to do. They seem to have a whole lot more experience than me, in everything. From their stories, they seem to have already led amazing lives: the guy was a salmon fisherman in Alaska and seems to have roamed all over Montana, and the girl has trapped and tracked coyotes already, as well as done field work in Australia.
There's lots of wildlife all around here: I've already seen two bears, many coyotes, lots of elk and pronghorn, and millions of bison. I was worried about the grizzly bears here; apparently the bison are a bigger hazard. Tourist driving is the biggest.
Finally, here are a couple pictures:
Using scopes to look at a bear.
The bear! It's a big grizzly, far away.
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