1 cougar down, 4 to go! Happy to report that we captured a nice big 5 year old tom, named M01. He is a beauty! And what a chase...the first tree we put him in Bayne was 1st on the scene. While none of us could see what happened behind the bolder, there was some pretty good squeeling and with the bacterial infection that seems to have followed, it appears he got a healthy dose of the kitty backhand. The tree was a big old dead cottonwood which the tom ended up jumping out of, after which Daisy (Our only girl hound) treed him again. He jumped that tree as well before ending up in a big rocky overhang, compliments once again to Miss Daisy. The dogs weren't able to reach him, but we were able to get up high enough to put a dart in him. Of course as fate would have it, his size and weight required the use to two darts...the unfortunate part of that is that he jumped the ledge after the first dart and we had to spend over half an hour searching for him. Luckily we were able to find him and get a second dart in him. The processing went incredibly smooth after removing him from the cave which he had crawled in, and soon after was back up and on his feet before the crack of noon. Whew!!!!

Bayne is now recovering, with 7 puncture wounds (source unknown but kitty suspected on at least 4 of them) pumped up on some pretty strong antibiotics and pain medication. We had a bit of a scare when the first round of drugs didn't touch him, but luckily after and IV infusion of more concentrated stuff and a switch to antibiotics that work an anaerobic bacteria (thanks Amy), he is slowly recovering! He does have quite a lot of swelling in his face and lost vision out of his left eye for a short time due to swelling, but seems to be keeping his appetite and is still putting his nose in every track he sees. Go Bayne! This picture was taken before the worst of it set in, but you can see at least some of the swelling starting around his nose.

Welcome to Ewing-Snell Historic Ranch, my new home away from home. We have solar power, a propane generator, cold showers (he he he) and a wonderful wood stove! Despite the cold temperatures (-15 with a bone-chilling wind) and lack of TV, radio, internet or phone service (sorry, no land-line either), we are adjusting quite well! And what a beautiful setting...we are about 30 miles north of the town of Lovell, Wyoming, across the Montana border...truly in the boondocks and loving every minute of it! I had hoped on making more posts with the promise of satellite internet at the homestead, but as of yet, this is the first day I have had internet access except for a few flash messages to my husband and family to let them know I was alive and well. Apparently, we should be getting internet access soon (the IT guys comes tomorrow to check things out), so keep your fingers crossed everyone! As for the rest of my updates, see pictures: 1) the drive up from Utah was mostly on pure ice, 8 hours total 2) Bighorn Canyon, my new backyard...10 minutes from my house 3) the landscape is rugged! My advisor and the gal in charge (Lindsey Blake) checking out the landscape.

So far we have fully moved in and settled, purchased the bare necessities (toaster oven and tea kettle), gone through all equipment and packed the capture packs, met with all the big-wigs, and are prepping for one last training day tomorrow to go over target practice with the dart gun and tree climbing. I'll keep you posted on our adventure as things progress!

Well, the time has come! Bayne and I have been packing "Big White" with what seems like entirely too much gear for our 4 month excursion up north, to take on the cats of the Bighorn Mountains! Our main goal is to help deploy 5 GPS collars on adult cougars so graduate student Linsey Blake (Utah State University) can look at cougar predation on bighorn sheep.

Aside from some initial tracking training (ages 4 months to 1 year), treeing of house cats, and a few interactions with a live cougar from the comfort of his leash, this is going to be Bayne's first introduction to the art of the chase...we'll see how he does! I'm a bit worried he lacks enough independence to stay on the trail, so that is something we will be focusing on during this capture stint. I'm hoping he gets inspired from other hounds on the project and will pick it up fast.

I don't know what kind of access I'll have, but I'm looking forward to posting pics and info once we get settled in and start capture work. Please let me know of special requests! I look forward to keeping you posted and hope you enjoy the ride as much as I'm sure I will!