14 DAY TRIAL // Studying the secrets of wildlife has been one of the most dangerous tasks for scientists, and has gotten increasingly dangerous with the appearance of television channels dedicated to animals and nature. In addition to show hosts who just want their ratings to go up, real scientists, conducting thorough experiments on everything from bugs to lions and whales, find it increasingly difficult to get close to animals without hurting them or themselves. That's why they are currently looking for new ways of observing their targets, without intervening at all.
One of the proposed methods, which works especially in the case of larger mammals on dry land, is the use of hair corrals, stretches of barbed wire that are placed strategically in such a way that they do not hurt the animal, but simply scratch some of its hair off. This technique has been successfully employed in order to assess the general state of the grizzly population in America. Before the presidential elections, now-senator John McCain said that the money paid for grizzly DNA testings was a waste and that other avenues needed to be explored. Now is a moment to be grateful that he didn't win the presidential race.
After collecting 34,000 hair samples in 14 weeks, the scientists studying the largest bears in the US have announced that the actual population is two times larger than first thought, and that it currently reaches 765 individuals. This is a prime example of what independent scientific ideas can accomplish, far away from political and ideological influences. Now, fortunately, President Obama has announced that science will be lifted to its rightful place in America once again, and that sound facts will no longer be silenced because they contradict the official political agenda.
Heat- and motion-triggered cameras are yet another noninvasive way of looking at animals while in their natural habitat. They can even offer deep insight into a group's social structures, as no humans are in sight. Some of these advanced tracking devices can even be remotely-operated, so that they exhibit the most relevant angles and close-ups. These are just two of the examples that scientists have in store for those saying that only using tranquilizers and direct observations work. In fact, there are many more other methods that work just as well, or even better.