Students studying northwest Nebraska wildlife

In February, the students received the frozen carcass of a 97-pound female mountain lion that was killed near Chadron by a 16-year-old hunter during fall 2008.

The 11 students of Dr. Teresa Zimmerman's wildlife practicum class performed a necropsy on the big cat, which was killed when it reportedly came within 15 steps of the boy who was hunting on a game trail in November 2008. During the necropsy, the students studied the animal's internal organs to determine the presence of intestinal parasites, its fat condition and reproductive status.

With funds from the Weedon Trust, the mountain lion will be mounted and placed in the program's growing collection in the Burkhiser Complex. In addition, the skeleton will be reassembled by CSC students to be used for future studies.

Another one of the students' research projects is helping the state collect data of the endangered swift fox.

The class situated scent stations in rural Dawes County to attract the foxes and other animals. The stations, which are 10 inches in diameter, consist of a mixture of vegetable oil, sand and canned mackerel. The students make routine checks of the stations to determine what tracks are present.

Also included in the practicum class projects was a visit by a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission representative who brought hundreds of wings of prairie grouse, prairie chickens and ringneck pheasants that were collected from hunters last year. The students learned how to determine age and sex of the birds by observing their wings.

CSC offers a minor in wildlife management as part of its range management program.

Representatives of CSC's wildlife management studies were named to chairmanships by the Nebraska Chapter of the Wildlife Society during the organization's February meeting in Lincoln.

CSC student Brooke Stewart of Waterbury, Neb., was selected chairwoman of the Student Chapter Committee. In addition, Zimmerman, assistant professor of applied science in agriculture, will lead the organization's Legacy Committee. Each is a one-year appointment.

CSC is one of six colleges and universities that participated in the event. Six CSC students made the trip to Lincoln. In addition to the meeting, they learned about parasitic and infectious disease of wildlife during a professional workshop on Saturday at the University of Nebraska Diagnostic Laboratory.